The Calgary Flames came away with a victory against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Tuesday, with contributions from all across the lineup. The game-winning goal came from Matt Coronato, and the game-sealing goal came from Jonathan Huberdeau, but the fourth line was the group that started it all.
Everything began when Ryan Lomberg, Kevin Rooney, and Martin Pospisil were announced as the starting three to go up against Alexander Ovechkin and his line. Not only did it excite those three, but it also excited the entire locker room, as shown by the Flames on social media.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
The boys were FIRED UP for tonight&#39;s starting lineup 🔥 <a href="https://t.co/kaYfcBSuOS">pic.twitter.com/kaYfcBSuOS</a>
&mdash; Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHLFlames/status/1894564923599945994?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;It&#8217;s been a long time coming,&#8221; <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0yP-eaIt2A">Lomberg said, via Flames TV</a>. &#8220;There&#8217;s been a few games where the other team starts their fourth line, and we didn&#8217;t get our numbers called, so tonight, going against Ovi and his line was a pretty big opportunity for us. And, like I said, I was proud of the way we handled it. It was an important start for us and our group. I&#8217;m proud of the way myself and linemates and d-pair handled ourselves out there to start the game.&#8221;
The fourth line not only started the game and held the Capitals&#8217; first line in check, but they also scored the game&#8217;s first goal thanks to a lucky bounce off Pospisil&#8217;s leg.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🔥FLAMES GOAL🔥
The puck bounces off Martin Pospisil&#8217;s leg and goes in! It&#8217;s 1-0 Calgary!
🎥: Sportsnet | NHL<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> <a href="https://t.co/qSEP1ILHCw">pic.twitter.com/qSEP1ILHCw</a>
— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1894546705640780017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
&#8220;We were obviously ready to play,&#8221; Lomberg said. &#8220;That&#8217;s one of the best teams in the league. They&#8217;re notorious for starting right away and starting with a lead, so to have that start like we did, everybody came ready to go tonight, and it was a great response from our group.&#8221;
Overall, the victory was massive for the Flames&#8217; progress toward the postseason. Any team beating the current second-best team in the league and the best team in their respective conference on home ice in regulation is a big deal. For the Flames, it means that much more considering where they are in the Western Conference playoff race.
&#8220;Yeah, it was huge,&#8221; Lomberg said. &#8220;One for one against one of the best teams in the league. There were some good things we did and some things we need to improve on, but overall, I thought we battled as hard as we could, and that&#8217;s a great way to start a tough road trip.&#8221;
Lomberg, Rooney, and Pospisil were all instrumental in the victory over the Capitals. They played three periods of excellent hockey and showed head coach Ryan Huska, their teammates, and the Flames faithful what having an above-average fourth line can do for a team&#8217;s ability to produce. If Calgary are going to win more games on this road trip, they&#8217;re going to need similar performances in the upcoming days.
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The Calgary Flames came away with a victory against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Tuesday, with contributions from all across the lineup. The game-winning goal came from Matt Coronato, and the game-sealing goal came from Jonathan Huberdeau, but the fourth line was the group that started it all.

Everything began when Ryan Lomberg, Kevin Rooney, and Martin Pospisil were announced as the starting three to go up against Alexander Ovechkin and his line. Not only did it excite those three, but it also excited the entire locker room, as shown by the Flames on social media.

https://twitter.com/NHLFlames/status/1894564923599945994

"It's been a long time coming," <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0yP-eaIt2A">Lomberg said, via Flames TV</a>. "There's been a few games where the other team starts their fourth line, and we didn't get our numbers called, so tonight, going against Ovi and his line was a pretty big opportunity for us. And, like I said, I was proud of the way we handled it. It was an important start for us and our group. I'm proud of the way myself and linemates and d-pair handled ourselves out there to start the game."

The fourth line not only started the game and held the Capitals' first line in check, but they also scored the game's first goal thanks to a lucky bounce off Pospisil's leg.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🔥FLAMES GOAL🔥
The puck bounces off Martin Pospisil's leg and goes in! It's 1-0 Calgary!

🎥: Sportsnet | NHL<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Flames?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Flames</a> <a href="https://t.co/qSEP1ILHCw">pic.twitter.com/qSEP1ILHCw</a>

— Robert Munnich (@RingOfFireCGY) <a href="https://twitter.com/RingOfFireCGY/status/1894546705640780017?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 26, 2025</a></blockquote>
"We were obviously ready to play," Lomberg said. "That's one of the best teams in the league. They're notorious for starting right away and starting with a lead, so to have that start like we did, everybody came ready to go tonight, and it was a great response from our group."

Overall, the victory was massive for the Flames' progress toward the postseason. Any team beating the current second-best team in the league and the best team in their respective conference on home ice in regulation is a big deal. For the Flames, it means that much more considering where they are in the Western Conference playoff race.

"Yeah, it was huge," Lomberg said. "One for one against one of the best teams in the league. There were some good things we did and some things we need to improve on, but overall, I thought we battled as hard as we could, and that's a great way to start a tough road trip."

Lomberg, Rooney, and Pospisil were all instrumental in the victory over the Capitals. They played three periods of excellent hockey and showed head coach Ryan Huska, their teammates, and the Flames faithful what having an above-average fourth line can do for a team's ability to produce. If Calgary are going to win more games on this road trip, they're going to need similar performances in the upcoming days.

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Get ready, hockey fans! The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff Deadline</a> is happening on March 7th from 11 AM to 4 PM Eastern, and you won’t want to miss it. We’ll be LIVE, breaking down every trade and big move as it happens, with instant reactions and expert analysis from the Daily Faceoff crew. Plus, we've got special guests lined up throughout the show, offering exclusive insights from some of the biggest names in the game. From blockbuster trades to surprise moves, we’re covering it all. Tune in to the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@daily_faceoff">Daily Faceoff YouTube channel</a> and follow Daily Faceoff socials on March 7th to catch all the action!

Ryan Lomberg and the Flames fourth line proved worthy of their start in win against Capitals

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