While picking up pizza served right in the middle of the ice by Edmonton Oilers defenseman Alex Regula, Calgary FlamesThe fourth liner raced to score the decisive goal in a 3-2 win that Lomberg wanted to make the most of.
“I've got a little contract here with Pizza 73, so I think Regula, whatever his name is, he could help with some of that,” chuckled the effervescent winger after an emotional evening in which he personally set the tone.
“I told him I gave away some pizza during the break, and I didn't mean me. I thought we'd go around town and give them away, but no, well done. Shout out 'Pizza 73'. Great pizza. Put it straight in the oven.”
On Saturday night, which began with a lot of posturing in pregame warm-ups, with several players on both sides crossing the red line and exchanging reminders that they didn't like the way their game ended four days earlier, it was the Flames who kept their promise to get their noses dirty.
After avenging a recent 5-1 loss to the Oilers, which the hosts won with supreme skill, the Flames adjusted their approach and positioning with a brutal response that allowed them to steal time, space and two points from the surging Oils.
“I think that was the No. 1 thing for us, and it was Lomberg and (teammate Adam) Klapka who started it for us,” Flames coach Ryan Haska said when asked about the role his team's physicality played in neutralizing the Oilers.
“If you're going to play against the best players in this league and let this game be an easy game, it's going to be a tough game for us. And I think those two guys in particular did a really good job. I think little things like that go a long way in making it difficult to play against your team. I thought we were better in that category.”
None of the Oilers needed to see the stats to believe they lost 29-13 in a clear attempt to stymie the Oilers' creativity and will to compete in a tough game in which every inch was earned.
Klapka led all skaters with six hits, and when he wasn't throwing out his 235-pound frame, he made a series of skillful plays that earned him a temporary promotion to the Nazem Kadri line after Joel Farabee left the game for 10 minutes with what was later ruled a stinger.
During this time, Klapka once again demonstrated why he deserves further consideration within minutes, after he turned and fired a tame pass from a corner that found Yegor Sharangovich, who easily put the ball ahead 1-0.
Overall, Klapka had three shots on goal, four hits and was the only Flame on the ice to score all three of Calgary's goals.
“I thought Clapper may have had his best game of the year,” Huska said of the outspoken six-foot-eight player, who made a great deflection, turned cheekily in his own zone and dribbled past a defender to convert a late scoring chance that bounced off the post.
“He did a lot of really good things for us tonight. He played like a big man and we want him to play consistently. That's been a bit of a test for us with him this year. You'll see flashes of it and then it'll wear off for a while. He's going to be a really impressive player, once he gets some consistency in his game, he's going to be hard to handle.”
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The tenacious forechecking required for the Flames' success is best exemplified by the fourth line, but is also demonstrated by Mikael Backlund's checking trio of Blake Coleman and Connor Zary.
Both lines scored crucial goals, including the game-winning combination between Coleman and Backlund, in which Coleman started and finished the highlight of the game with seven minutes remaining.
“Big goal,” said coach of Backlund's line, which limited Connor McDavid to a goal, two posts and seven shots on goal.
“I just love their approach tonight. I thought they skated. I thought they checked thoroughly. I thought they had a purpose in what they did. Blake was full of energy. Tonight he was the guy who took his game to the next level, and that's what we needed.”
No amount of presents, turkey or sleep over the Christmas break allowed the Flames to shake off the embarrassment they felt in Edmonton.
“Obviously we weren't happy with where we left off before the break and we've had a few days to think about it,” said Lomberg, who recently switched sticks and now has three goals in his last five matches.
“We’ve kind of righted the ship and now it’s important for us to move forward and stay on this path.”
With the sold-out Saddledome in full swing that night, it was Lomberg's goal that nearly blew the roof off the establishment, which would suffer the same fate two years later.
“Everything Ryan Lomberg does is a big pop,” said Coleman, whose club benefited from a few extra rebounds when Dustin Wolf saw four Oilers shots bounce off the iron behind him.
“That personality… when he does something, it gets the whole bench excited and the whole crowd excited. So you have to give him credit. He was really good tonight.”
