Instead of coming right back with a game tonight, the series takes an extra day off and resumes Thursday.
The extra day gives each team a chance to rest a bit and eases the travel - a five-hour flight - for both. The Lightning flew back to Tampa on Tuesday and the Flames are scheduled to fly today.
The extra day also gives the Lightning a chance to rest a few injured players, including forwards Vinny Lecavalier and Ruslan Fedotenko and defenseman Pavel Kubina.
Lightning coach John Tortorella could not care less about the schedule.
"I don't think too deeply on it as far as the injuries and rest," he said. "Both teams go through the same type of schedule."
Sending a message
This series was billed as run-and-gun against, well, run-and-gun. Both teams usually play a wide-open style. But not in this series.
"I think as we've gone along here, Calgary has gone into more of a defensive mode," Tortorella said.
That might be true, but the Lightning also managed to nurse a lead in Game 4's 1-0 victory. The murmurs among the media covering this series are that, so far, it has been your run-of-the-mill, somewhat boring, get-a-lead-and-protect-it series.
Win, lose
Once again, the Lightning continued its win-one, lose-one string. After losing Game 2 of the first-round series against the Islanders, the Lightning reeled off eight consecutive victories. Then it lost Game 2 against the Flyers and hasn't won or lost consecutive games since. What gives?
"I just think it's hard this time of year," captain Dave Andreychuk said. "A team loses a game then raises its desperation level."
Tortorella said it's all about momentum. The team that doesn't have it does everything it can to get it back, then perhaps cannot match the intensity of the other team in the next game.
"I think the most important thing is when you do lose a game, it's how you respond," Tortorella said.
Men in stripes
TSN is reporting that referees Kerry Fraser and Brad Watson, who were booed and blamed by the Calgary crowd for the Flames' loss in Game 4, will work Game 6 in Calgary.
The fans jumped on both referees early when the Lightning was awarded a 5-on-3 advantage for two minutes. The result was Brad Richards' goal, the only one of the game.
Then the Flames' chance to tie the score was severely damaged with less than five minutes left when Ville Nieminen was given a five-minute boarding major for hitting Lecavalier face-first into the boards. Calgary coach Darryl Sutter and captain Jarome Iginla said Nieminen's hit should have been a penalty, but not a major.
Bill McCreary and Stephen Walkom will referee Game 5.
Lightning signs 3 prospects
As expected, Tampa Bay signed forwards Adam Henrich and Darren Reid and defenseman Paul Ranger to standard three-year rookie contracts. North American junior players drafted in 2002 needed to be signed by Tuesday or would have been eligible to re-enter the draft.
Reid, a 6-foot-2, 190-pounder and the 256th overall pick, had 33 goals and 81 points in 67 games for WHL Medicine Hat. Henrich, 6-4, 220, was the 60th pick and had 29 goals and 58 points in 65 games for OHL Brampton. Ranger (6-2, 210) was the 183rd pick and had 12 goals and 43 points in 62 games for OHL Oshawa.
Game 5 edginess
With the series reduced to a best-of-three, it might seem the Lightning has the advantage with two games at the St. Pete Times Forum. But Calgary has been in this situation before.
Three times.
The Flames, the No. 6 seed in the West, have not had home-ice advantage in any of their series. Each of their first three were tied at 2, and each time Calgary won Game 5 on the road - at Vancouver, Detroit and San Jose.
"At this point, obviously we'd like to be up 3-1," Calgary forward Shean Donovan said. "But the thing is, now it's a three-game series for the Stanley Cup. If they would have asked us at the start of the year if we would have a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, I think both teams would take it."
The Lightning, No. 1 seed in the East, has had home-ice advantage in the playoffs and is 2-0 in Game 5s. It eliminated the Islanders in overtime in the first round and took a 3-2 advantage with a Game 5 victory against the Flyers in the conference final. It swept the Canadiens in the semis.
In defense of Ference
Calgary's defensemen continue to get a workout, despite a seven-man rotation. Andrew Ference has seen the biggest increase in ice time during the final, his average of 23:29 nearly five minutes more than during the regular season.
"I think there's times where he's looked tired," Sutter said. "He's still playing a lot of minutes, so obviously he's playing really well."
