After finding themselves down by a pair of goals, a third period charge by the Calgary Flames extended the game to extra time Thursday night in Tampa. However their bid for a comeback was quickly put to an end when Steven Stamkos scored just thirty seconds into sudden death overtime.

PHOTO CREDIT - CalgaryFlames.com

Calgary - December 16, 2011 - After finding themselves down by a pair of goals, a third period charge by the Calgary Flames extended the game to extra time Thursday night in Tampa. However their bid for a comeback was quickly put to an end when Steven Stamkos scored just thirty seconds into sudden death overtime. A few unfortunate bounces throughout the night proved to be too much for the team to overcome as they fell 5-4 to the home town Lightning.

A spectacular shift to begin the game by the Flames seemed to hint towards a strong opening period of play ahead for the road team, but that was not the case as the Lightning seized control of the period shortly thereafter. Just five minutes into the game Teddy Purcell scored his 6th goal of the season after he threw the puck out from behind the net and managed to ricochet a shot off of Chris Butler’s leg and into the net. After not being able to generate a whole lot of offense through the first 19 minutes of play, The Flames were able capitalize in the late moments of the period as Matt Stajan chipped in his FIRST goal of the season. Yet again Calgary managed to keep the game within reach after being heavily outplayed for the majority of the frame, which to me, is a good sign.

Another good start by the boys to the second resulted in Jarome Iginla blasting home his twelfth goal of the year just seconds after their second power play opportunity of the night came to an end. Much like the first period however, Tampa was able to grab a hold on the pace of the game. This initiated an outburst of production for the Bolts as they managed to tally three times in the final ten minutes of the second stanza. Unfortunately for Chris Butler he yet again had the misfortune of having the puck go off of his leg for a second time on the night as he slid across the ice to break up a two on one threat by the Lightning. Now down by two goals after a forgettable forty minutes of play, the flames headed in to the locker room with the anticipation of making a comeback.

It looked as if a completely different team charged out onto to the ice to begin the third when Rene Bourque scored to bring his team to within one after he charged in on a breakaway and was able to dribble the puck past Mathieu Garon after fanning on his original shot attempt. A late game slashing penalty to Viktor Hedman gave Calgary the opportunity they needed to tie the game, and sure enough Olli Jokinen redirected in his 9th goal of the season with less than three and a half minutes to remaining in regulation time. This game was off to overtime, and it certainly did not take long to determine a winner on this night as Steven Stamkos finished off a nice display of passing just thirty seconds into extra time to hand the Flames just their third defeat after regulation time. Although it was not the result they wanted, a good showcasing of resiliency late in the game earned the Flames a much need road point on the night. The team will not get much rest however as they will get set to face off against the surging Florida Panthers tomorrow night.