The Calgary Flames seemed invincible on home ice not long ago. A lack of scoring, however, has since left them vulnerable there.
The Flames look to build on a promising road victory in the opener of a four-game homestand Tuesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning, winners of six of seven at the Saddledome.
Calgary (18-18-2) was riding high with a franchise-record 11-game home winning streak that was snapped with a 1-0 loss to Anaheim last Tuesday. The Flames had outscored opponents 41-25 during the last 10 of that run.
Another trend seems to be emerging in the Flames' past two home contests, however, as they fell 4-1 to Los Angeles on Thursday. The club has totaled 38 shots in losing two straight at home for the first time since opening the season with four consecutive losses at the Saddledome.
Johnny Gaudreau, with team highs of 17 goals and 22 assists, had 15 and seven during the home winning streak before going scoreless in the last two.
Calgary beat Colorado 4-0 on Saturday in a road contest bridging a pair of four-game homestands. After being a healthy scratch in the previous four, Josh Jooris had a goal and an assist.
"He didn't play for quite a bit of time, and every day at practice I'm watching him, he's got a great attitude, he's working hard, he's stayed in shape, and look at the game he gave us," coach Bob Hartley told the team's official website.
Jiri Hudler, though, could be sidelined after he didn't play in the third period because of a lower-body injury. Hudler has been a disappointment with five goals this season after tying for the team lead with 31 in 2014-15.
Karri Ramo stopped 26 shots Saturday for his first shutout of the season. He's posted a 1.82 goals-against average over his last 10 starts and has a 1.99 mark in four career starts against Tampa Bay (19-16-4).
Brian Boyle and Tyler Johnson have presented problems for the Flames recently, with Boyle recording four goals and two assists in his last seven meetings and Johnson two and two in his past three. Johnson, though, has gone six games without a goal.
Boyle, Steven Stamkos and Johnson scored against Ramo in a 3-1 home win Nov. 12. Ben Bishop made 30 saves and has a 3-1-0 record and 1.51 GAA in his last four starts against Calgary.
Tampa Bay seeks its fifth win in seven road games after closing out a 3-2-1 homestand with a 3-2 shootout victory over Minnesota on Saturday. Nikita Kucherov extended his point streak to eight with a second-period goal, giving him three and nine assists in the run.
Ondrej Palat added an assist following an eight-game absence due to a leg injury.
"For somebody who's missed as many games as he has and to play the way he did, (Palat) was a difference-maker," coach Jon Cooper told the team's official website.
Bishop is expected to be back and in net after missing the contest with an undisclosed issue.
The Jonathan Drouin saga took another turn Sunday when the third overall pick in the 2013 draft requested a trade, one day after the Lightning assigned him to the AHL to get more playing time. Drouin has been limited to 19 games due to injury.
Tampa Bay has won three in a row and 11 of 15 against Calgary.
