Lewis, Williams ready for “young, hungry” Flames

Tonight’s game marks the rubber match of the five-game season series with Calgary. Each team has won a pair of games on the other team’s home ice, with Los Angeles holding a narrow 8-7 lead in aggregate scoring through the first four games. Tonight’s game is the Kings’ third trip to the Saddledome since the Olympic Break.

There is optimism surrounding the Flames. Calgary has played 48 one-goal games this year – one one-goal game shy of the NHL record – and has won three straight games as part of an 18-11-0 stretch. By many accounts, this Flames team has overachieved this season, and tonight’s game should have a raised intensity despite both teams having little to gain in the standings.

“These guys are young and hungry and they’ve been playing hard, playing well,” Trevor Lewis said. “It’s a big game for us and we’ve got a big job to do. We have to focus on coming out and playing our game.

Trevor Lewis, on whether Calgary’s work ethic is among the best in the NHL:
I think so. I think they’re all young, hungry guys that want to be and stay in the lineup. They definitely work their butts off and we have to match and exceed that.

Justin Williams, on Calgary’s work ethic:
Yeah, they work hard and they skate hard. We’ve known that from playing against them and you get nothing for free. You have to earn your wins and we plan on doing that.

Williams, on whether the team is motivated by the chance to win the season series:
No, more importantly it’s how you’re playing going into the playoffs. We lost two games early in the season to them on our home ice, but the most important thing is using these games to our advantage. Fine tuning our game and make sure we’re trending upwards because it’s not a switch that you can just flick on come playoff time as much as you’d like to think. As long as you’re playing well you have a chance.

Williams, on whether the team is trending well heading into the playoffs:
I think these are just three important games for us. We haven’t played in a few days. We lost our last two games. So obviously not [trending upwards.] But, like I said, these games are very important to us and I’m approaching them as important games for myself, individually.