Sometimes, you just get beaten by a better team. When you’re so thoroughly beaten, though – and in the midst of a losing streak at that – then it’s perhaps a little less acceptable a sentiment.

Remember the first matchup these two teams had? It was probably a candidate for best regular season game of the year. Both teams were engaged, trading chances, and so unwilling to concede a loss it went deep into the shootout. And at first, it seemed like we were going to be in for a similar matchup.

Except then, the Lightning started scoring. A perfectly executed powerplay is one thing, and the Flames did immediately respond trying to tie the game up. But they couldn’t match the Lightning in terms of speed, quick decision-making, and sheer tenacity; the game seemed already out of hand by the time the Lightning went up 3-0. Sure, there was a glimmer of hope once Mark Giordano got the Flames on the board early into a five-on-three, but when the rest of the man advantage was followed up with a complete inability to get set up, that hope faded.

And the hope was probably killed for good when just under a minute after Sean Monahan made it a one-goal game – after a number of Flames chances, at that – the Lightning restored their two-goal lead. They were completely outworking the Flames; combine that with their superior overall roster, and there was little cause to believe the Flames could get back in it. It turned into a game of skating through the motions: for the Flames, pressure that resulted in nothing. For the Lightning, goals.

This could have been a winnable game for the Flames but for a couple of factors. They needed some more bounces to go their way – not that that’s a thing any team can ever really count on. And they needed to rise to the occasion, the way the Lightning did. They couldn’t. They lost to a better team that probably wanted it more.

Not that giving up six goals is ever a good look, but David Rittich at least seemed a little more like himself. The two goals the Sharks scored on him were abhorrent, and completely his fault; giving up goals to the Canucks in so few shots the game after was rough, as well. While he wasn’t miraculous in this game, though, at least he looked competent. You could point to him as worthy of blame in recent games; for this one, you couldn’t. And that’s at least one positive sign moving forward: the Flames might still be able to count on Rittich, at least when the skaters in front of him are playing well.

At least you can see the effort from the less talented members of this team, even if it doesn’t work out. Derek Ryan has been doing great for weeks now. Andrew Mangiapane looks like he’s coming alive. Sam Bennett was trying to be all over the puck in a good way. Someone like Oliver Kylington was noticeable for mostly the right reasons. The depth didn’t score, but they definitely did their job as best they could.

What we’re seeing is what happens when a top-heavy team starts to fizzle out. It’s a little odd to say that of a game in which Sean Monahan scored twice and his linemates were involved in every goal, but they honestly just weren’t that good, and neither was the 3M line. In some games, when the Flames played loose defensively, they were able to score their way out of trouble. That can’t happen without the top two lines playing much, much better than they did this game.

Speaking of the top two lines, what’s up with Matthew Tkachuk? He’s now six games without a point, an odd sight considering he has 57 points in 56 games – and that was once 57 in 50. His longest point-less streak of the season before this stretch was three games; that’s now been doubled. This isn’t to ascribe him the blame in place of his linemates – the line hasn’t been looking great the past couple of games – but one of the team’s top scorers is in a serious rut right now.

The Flames have played very sloppy defence at several points throughout the season. This was one of the worst exhibits of that. Combine their overall lethargy with the Lightning being so good themselves – they didn’t overpass, they just tic-tac-toe’d their way into goals (extremely different from watching the Flames in the offensive zone: one team put on a clinic, the other team did not) – and they were completely embarrassed, and that’s without getting into their penchant for crowding Rittich’s space and obstructing his view. Six goals against was a worthy fate for the team.

One saving grace for the Flames this season has been that they’ve never given up on a game. This time, it kind of felt like they did. That’s not to say they definitively did, but once the Lightning scored to make it 4-2 just 57 seconds after Monahan’s first goal, the night seemed to be over.

51.16% – The Flames’ 5v5 corsi. They could have played well enough, overall, to hang with the Lightning; they just did not have it in this game at all.

65 – Monahan’s two goals brought him to a new career high: his first-ever 65-point season. He scored 64 points in 74 games last season. This season, he’s on pace for 95 points.

55 – Giordano was the only Flame not on the top line to get a point. He scored his 55th point of the season in his 54th game. It’s probably worth noting that his career high is 56 points in 82 games from back in 2015-16. He’s still on pace for an 80-point season. That’s pretty cool.

4 – Rasmus Andersson had four shots on net. No other Flame had more than two. His ascension this season has been a delight to watch.

9:51 – Mangiapane’s ice time, the least of any Flame, but also the most he’s gotten to play since a 7-1 win over the Coyotes back on Jan. 13. Not that he wasn’t earning it, but also a reflection of Bill Peters deciding it was fine to essentially keep rolling his lines (shuffling be damned), because the Flames weren’t going to get back into it? Maybe.

The last time the Flames have lost this much and haven’t looked as great while doing so was probably in October. They had a solid three-month stretch – about half of the season – of looking unbeatable. That’s incredible. So maybe they’re coming a bit back down to earth; that’s fine, they were probably never going to be able to actually keep up that level of play over the course of 70 or 80 games.

This is still a good team – things just look worse than they actually are because of the direct contrast, from winning so much to whatever the past couple of games have been. They will, in all likelihood, get through this. They just might not win the Stanley Cup this year. And four months ago, who among us was really expecting that?