With upwards of 40 friends and family members in the stands, it appeared for a while that Johnny Gaudreau might just record a shot on goal for every one of them.
Returning to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia where he grew up watching his childhood heroes play, the 28-year-old New Jersey native played one of his best games in years.
In the end, it wasn’t enough, as the Flames found a way to lose 2-1 in overtime to the Flyers on Tuesday.
But if Gaudreau continues putting in efforts like that, the Flames’ recent scoring woes will soon be a thing of the past.
Armed with the sort of jump that helps separate him from almost every forward in the league when he’s fully energized and engaged, he used his speed and creativity to create a steady flow of chances for him and his linemates.
By night’s end he had an assist on Oliver Kylington’s goal and had an NHL season-high 10 shots on goal — also a career high for Gaudreau.
10 shots and counting for Johnny
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) November 17, 2021
His playmaking also helped Elias Lindholm record eight shots, giving the duo more than half of the 34 shots Calgary had on net.
“I was excited to play in front of a lot of people that have supported me for so long,” said Gaudreau.
“I’m not going to waste their time when they come out to watch me and have a bad game. Just try to work hard and do my thing on the ice.
“I thought we created a lot of offence the whole game. We had way too many Grade A opportunities and didn’t find the net. We’ve got to do a better job at that.”
Indeed, the Flames do, as offence has been hard to come by of late for a team that has now lost six of its last eight.
Gaudreau’s top unit has certainly gone cold throughout this stretch, but on this night he was the best player on the ice by a considerable margin.
Although he ran out of gas in overtime when his offensive-zone turnover ultimately wound up behind Jacob Markstrom for the loss, the game wouldn’t have lasted that long had Gaudreau not made two stellar defensive plays early and late in the game to prevent goals.
“He looked really good, right away from the start he was feeling it,” said Lindholm.
“He had the puck a lot and obviously when he has the puck it’s dangerous out there. Too bad none of those shots went in.”
Perhaps the best chance came with eight minutes left when Gaudreau went end to end with a rush that saw Carter Hart’s left pad deny him of a wraparound goal.
“Kind of a back-and-forth game, both goaltenders played well,” said Gaudreau, whose club has lost four of its five overtime games this season.
“We had a lot of opportunities to score tonight, didn’t put them in, and it cost us the game. It’s more frustrating that we lost. Not frustrating with the game and how it went. I thought our line was productive in the offensive zone. I thought we did a really good job. We’ve got to find a way to put the puck in the net.”
MARKSTROM STEALS ANOTHER POINT
Although content with his team’s play the first two periods, Lindholm figured his team was lucky to get a point after a third-period lapse that saw the hosts outshoot the Flames 14-5.
“I thought the first two periods it was a good game, but in the third period they took over and we were on our heels a bit and they had the puck most of the time,” said Lindholm, who also assisted on Kylington’s game-opener 10 minutes in.
“At the end, Marky kind of stole us a point there.”
Darryl Sutter wasn’t in the mood to dissect an effort that saw the Flyers outshoot Calgary 43-34 before Cam Atkinson converted a juicy rebound to hand the Flames their third loss on this seven-game road trip that continues in Buffalo on Thursday.
One of his many key saves included a pad-stacking stop to deny Scott Laughton on a second-period penalty shot.
He also stood tall during a brief two-man disadvantage shortly after Calgary opened the scoring.
“It certainly didn’t appear like that tonight,” said Sutter when asked about defensive hockey one would generally associate with a low-scoring game.
“Gonna happen. You’ve had bad days too.”
No more than 23 seconds after opening his presser, a clearly perturbed Sutter got out of his chair and declared, “gotta catch the bus.”
Consider the Flames lucky they won’t be practising Wednesday.
TOUCHING MOMENT
Flyers fans were treated to a special moment early in the second period when Kevin Hayes tied the game.
It was just his second game of the year following his second abdominal surgery, and his first goal since losing his brother Jimmy in the off-season.
Immediately after scoring, he looked and pointed skyward for his brother before reaching down to tap his heart.
“Personally, really, really happy for him,” said Gaudreau, who was Hayes’ roommate at Boston College.
“He’s gone through a lot these past few months. It’s hard, he’s on the other team, I don’t want him to score. But I was happy for him. He deserved it.”
Flames’ Gaudreau elevates his game in virtual homecoming in Philly
Source: Pinas Ko Mahal
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