The Justin Kirkland story just keeps getting better.
It’s the type of inspiring tale they make movies about.
A 28-year-old who had grinded for 10 years as a pro and played only nine games in the NHL, having one of his opportunities interrupted by a car crash.
And yet, on Tuesday night, there he was, firing the puck into the back of the net to score the shootout winner for the Calgary Flames (5-0-1) in their 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
How can you not love that?
Even his teammates, hardened NHLers like Nazem Kadri, can’t help but be amazed by it all.
“It’s inspiring, really,” said Kadri, who had a big moment of his own on Tuesday night when he tied the game up and sent it to overtime when he scored with 43 seconds left in the third period. “I really had no idea of his story when he came up here. I kind of learned more about him becoming his teammate.
“He’s a guy you’re rooting for. He puts in the work, too, and he’s a good teammate. I’m happy for him.”
The whole hockey world seems happy for Kirkland right now. Sent down for another AHL stint with the Calgary Wranglers at the end of training camp, Kirkland got his chance with the Flames when Kevin Rooney got injured in Game 1 of the season.
He scored his first goal a couple days later against the Edmonton Oilers and then, on Tuesday night sent the Saddledome into hysterics with his winner.
Dustin Wolf still had to stop Evgeni Malkin to secure the victory, but he did, and the surprising Flames won yet again.
If it was a surprise to most to see Kirkland with the puck on his stick in a shootout, the guy between the pipes at the other end of the nice seemed to know exactly what was going to happen.
“I got to play with him my first pro year in Stockton (with the Heat), and as soon as I saw he was going for the shootout I knew we were going to win,” said Wolf, who stopped 35-of-38 shots against the Penguins. “He’s Mr. Automatic when it comes to shootouts. I don’t think I’ve seen him miss.”
It was that shootout prowess in the AHL that made head coach Ryan Huska call Kirkland’s name with the game on the line. The decision might have been questioned had he missed, but instead, it became the latest chapter in Kirkland’s incredible story.
“Definitely (scored in a shootout) in my dreams before, it’s a special night,” Kirkland said. “There’s some serious high-end skill in this room, I really wasn’t expecting it. I’ve had that move for a little while and it’s worked before, so yeah, that was the most nervous I’ve ever been but it’s just unbelievable.”
It sure is. Here’s three more takeaways from Tuesday’s game:
STANDING ON HIS HEAD
If it wasn’t for Kirkland’s heroics, Wolf’s play would undoubtedly be the big story coming out of Tuesday night.
He’s been great so far this young season, winning all three games in which he’s played.
On Tuesday, he kept the Flames in the game during long stretches where the Penguins controlled the play and, at times, even dominated.
It wasn’t just that he stopped 35 shots, Wolf also came up big in the shootout and turned away four of the six shooters he faced, including Sidney Crosby – who hit the post – and Malkin.
“I pride myself on shootout pre-scouts pre-game, so I had somewhat of an idea of what they wanted to do. They didn’t do what I thought they were going to do,” Wolf said with a smile.
Dan Vladar’s been playing really well, too, so there’s still nobody locked-in as the Flames’ surefire starting goalie.
You can’t ask for much more than what Wolf did in net on Tuesday, though.
A BIT OF REDEMPTION
Actually, it’s not really accurate to say Kadri earned himself some redemption on Tuesday night.
He didn’t need it.
Yes, he made a mistake in overtime against the Seattle Kraken that led to their overtime winner, but everybody knows how much Kadri contributes to this Flames team. He’s a leader and picks up more points than anyone on the roster.
But there was certainly some poetry to him scoring the game-tying goal in the final minute and his exuberant celebration showed how much the goal meant to him – and the Flames.
“I mean, we tied the game with 20 seconds left, 25 seconds left, that’s about as good as it gets. When you’re drawing 6-on-5 plays I don’t know what the percentages are of scoring, I know the net’s empty and it’s usually going back that way, but it feels nice to come up big for our team.”
FINDING WAYS
We could talk about how MacKenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson both scored their third goals of the season for the Flames and no other team has a duo of defenseman who have scored that many. It’s pretty impressive.
But amidst all this positivity, it’s probably worth noting that the Flames did not play a perfect game by any means on Tuesday. There were long stretches where the Penguins were the better team. Huska didn’t like the way his team stopped moving its feet, at times.
Somehow, though, this team keeps finding a way.
“You’re going to be in hard games all the way through here, if we can find ways to stay with it and find different ways to win like we did tonight, that’s a really big thing,” Huska said. “Good on our players to stay with it.”
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