GAME DAY: Flames’ Lomberg recalls ‘pretty special moments’ about hoisting Cup in South Florida​on March 1, 2025 at 2:00 pm

When: Saturday, 1 p.m. MT, Amerant Bank Arena

TV: Sportsnet West. Radio: Sportsnet 960 The Fan

Odds: Flames +188, Panthers -230

This is the place where the Stanley Cup was hoisted last year.

It’s also a place where a few key members of the Calgary Flames once called home.

Yeah … Amerant Bank Arena hits a certain soft spot for defenceman MacKenzie Weegar and forwards Jonathan Huberdeau and Ryan Lomberg — the latter having celebrated that coveted Cup victory with the Florida Panthers last spring and making his first return to play in the champs’ house since that triumphant day.

“It’s something that I’ve been thinking about for a little while,” a smiling Lomberg told Flames TV. “It’s something I’ve had circled on the schedule.

“I’m excited to be back.”

The Flames will need Lomberg’s exuberance, especially against the reigning NHL kings in their own barn and after being shut out by the Tampa Lightning 3-0 on Thursday night.

“Pretty special moments here,” continued Lomberg. “A couple of the boys were asking me what my route was holding up the Cup and where I went and stuff like that. I remember the exact steps I took and all that stuff.

“And then obviously looking up and seeing the banner is tough to put into words.”

It’s not the first time for his Flames teammates Weegar and Huberdeau returning to the Cats’ house, but being back in the arena where their careers took hold still resonates with them.

“It always feels a little weird coming back,” Weegar told FlamesTV. “Memories always pop up in the back of your head when you come back here, and they’re all great memories. And it’s always fun coming back here.”

“It’s always going to be a special place coming back here,” Huberdeau told FlamesTV. “But at the end of the day here to play hockey and win some games.”

“They’re a really good team. I mean … they won the Stanley Cup last year, and they’re playing the same way (now). They’re a hard team, and you don’t have much room out there.” 

— Huberdeau

• The Flames woke up Thursday morning on the outside of the playoff picture after the Vancouver Canucks leap-frogged them in the Western Conference race with a 2-0 win over the host Los Angeles Kings late Wednesday. With that loss to the Lightning, they remain there in ninth place, a point behind eighth-spot Canucks who are now on 65 points and play the host Seattle Kraken late Saturday.

• The Panthers have won four of their last five games, including Thursday night’s edge of the Edmonton Oilers in a 4-3 rematch of last spring’s Stanley Cup combatants.

• A mid-December meeting between the Panthers and the host Flames was a nice early Christmas present for the home side of the Cup champs. The 3-0 victory saw Wolf record a 32-save shutout, while Nazem Kadri, Blake Coleman and Mikael Backlund tallied for the Flames.