February 18, 2023; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames center Mikael Backlund (11) celebrates his goal with center Jonathan Huberdeau (10) during overtime against the New York Rangers at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports Photo by Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports
Jonathan Huberdeau had just earned an assist for the overtime winner, his second setup of the night.
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With a wink, the Calgary Flames star forward acknowledged an assist that won’t make the scorer’s sheet.
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“Walshy cheered me on, I think,” he quipped in a walk-off interview with Ice hockey night in Canada.
That’s a funny line — a reference to a controversial tweet two nights earlier by his agent Allan Walsh, who confronted Huberdeau with questions about whether he was having fun in the Saddledome.
And that was a great game from the 29-year-old left winger, exactly the kind of performance Flames fans had come to expect from the prized Summer Trade pick-up. Huberdeau provided an assist in the first minute and another in sudden death when Mikael Backlund deflected his shot past Jaroslav Halak to lead the locals to a 3-2 overtime win over the New York Rangers.
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“Tonight I have to play like that for the rest of the year,” said Huberdeau. “Sometimes you think you don’t have it in you. Tonight it showed that I still have it and can make some moves and play well.
“It will bring back confidence and that’s what I need. I just have to work hard. I knew it would come back but it’s just a game so I have to keep going.”
The hosts got off to a flying start on Saturday, building a two-goal lead before spectators even had a chance to boo Forever-A-Flames nemesis Adam Fox. They were eventually forced to work a few extra minutes before they could cool down one of the NHL’s hottest teams. (Rangers arrived on a seven-game winning streak.)
Fox was finally cheered in overtime… after being arrested for high-sticking.
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During that four-on-three power play, Huberdeau fired a wrister just inside the point, and Backlund fooled Halak with a sly tip.
“Once we settled into our seats I saw Huby take a step and I really hoped he would shoot because I felt like there was a good lane there,” beamed Backlund. “And yes, it worked.”
Sure indeed.
“You know my shot – there was no way that was in it,” Huberdeau said, poking fun at himself during his post-game scrum. “I just saw Backs was wide open. He works on that every morning while skating. It paid off this time. This is a big win for us.”
The Flames scored twice in the first minute of Saturday’s showdown.
Andrew Mangiapane got the ball rolling with a great individual effort, splitting the defence, maintaining possession when he was harassed by K’Andre Miller and then buffing a patient Deke onto his backhand.
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Just eight seconds later, Huberdeau met Nazem Kadri, who clapped a one-timer from the top of the left circle. Jakob Pelletier also incorporated this tic-tac-toe sequence and scored his first NHL assist.
With a two-goal lead and only 46 ticks left on the clock, the men in red didn’t seem to be lacking in emotion and joy at this point. Both were called into question after Thursday’s uninspired defeat.
Rangers recouped a lucky goal from Vladimir Tarasenko – Vincent Trochek seemed to lose his grip on a pull on his forehand, but the puck slid right onto the recently acquired sniper for an easy finish – and then a man advantage -Marker passed Alexis Lafreniere, but the locals wouldn’t deny it.
“It’s a good team on the other side,” emphasized Huberdeau. “We had a really good start and stayed with it. They came back but we showed character and that’s a big win. We needed that in overtime.”
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“It’s fun to see the guys smiling and having fun. That’s what it’s about,” he continued. “I think we have a special team. We just have to try to accumulate the wins and get to the playoffs.”
The Flames, currently sitting just south of the cutoff in the Western Conference wildcard race, need Huberdeau to play a pivotal role in that quest.
While he won’t come close to the 115 points he scored for the Florida Panthers last winter, he showed himself and everyone else on Saturday the kind of impact he’s capable of. Not only did he increase his season total to 28 assists and 38 points. He was arguably Calgary’s best player.
“I thought our top guys, including Jonathan, were outstanding,” Sutter said.
AROUND THE BRETTS
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In that post-game salute, Sutter also mentioned goaltender Jacob Markstrom and each of his top four defensemen… The 2022-23 Flames hold a 10-2-2 record on Saturdays. Impressive…Markstrom finished with 19 stops. He made his best save on penalties and managed to get his blocker’s thumb on a safe bet from Mika Zibanejad. “We’re a team and we stick together and we put in a great team effort today from the puck drop to the time-out,” said Markstrom…Kadri was serving an interference penalty when Lafreniere shot a puck over the goal line to equalize. The All-Star Center still complained about that call at the end of the rulebook and was assessed a 10-minute misconduct that was relegated to the dressing room before overtime. “You warned him,” Sutter shrugged. “He argued with his penalty”… The Flames made history as the first team in league history to score two goals in the first minute on two separate occasions in the same season. They also accomplished that feat during a December 20 appointment in San Jose… Backlund made it clear that he expects that kind of energy and emotion from his team every night. “There are only 26 games left,” he recalled. “I mean, if you’re playing playoffs and you’re going all out, you’re going to play about 26 games, so if you can’t find energy here for the last 26 games…”
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OFF GLASS
The Flames were without top scorer Elias Lindholm as he and his wife Annica anxiously awaited the birth of their first child… Adam Ruzicka switched for Lindholm as Calgary’s first-line center… A refresher to Fox, who remains a popular target for the C of Red – He was drafted by the Flames in 2016 but was unwilling to sign in Calgary and was eventually traded away while still skating in the college ranks. The Blueshirts’ star defenseman was taunted every time the puck was on his racquet Saturday… The Flames will have a three-game home stand with Monday’s Family Day matinee against the Philadelphia Flyers (2 p.m. MT, Sportsnet West/Sportsnet 960 The Fan) … Elsewhere, old friend Johnny Gaudreau missed his first competition in nearly five years, ending the NHL’s third-longest active Ironman streak. He is deferred by a lower body injury. Gaudreau, now employed by the Columbus Blue Jackets, had applied for 349 consecutive appointments, most of them on behalf of the Flames.
Twitter.com/WesGilbertson
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