MacKenzie Weegar knows all too well how it can weigh on a player when they haven’t scored a goal.
Two years ago, Weegar experienced it himself. After being acquired by the Calgary Flames in the off-season trade that sent Matthew Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers, the blueliner wanted to make a mark.
But he just couldn’t find the back of the net. For 36 games early in the 2022-23 season, Weegar didn’t light the lamp until he finally buried one on New Year’s Eve and felt the relief come pouring in.
So Weegar knows better than anyone what Daniil Miromanov’s first goal of this campaign — against the Nashville Predators on Friday — meant to his defensive partner.
“That’s a tough feeling,” Weegar explained. “In this market, too, everybody’s on you a little bit more. He didn’t have to wait as long as I did, I had to wait until January, so I’m happy he got it now and can kind of move on and breathe a little bit more, probably.”
Miromanov scored in just his third game in a Flames uniform last season after he was acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in the deal for Noah Hanifin in March.
The 27-year-old’s offensive upside is a big part of the reason why the Flames were interested in getting him in that trade, so there’s no question Miromanov’s lack of production was weighing on his shoulders.
As a defenceman, scoring goals is only a small part of what you’re asked to do on any given night, but getting one can be a big boost for your confidence.
“We’ve done a lot of work with Dan (Lambert), our D coach, and most of it when you get to this level is mental. It’s not overthinking and making sure you’re doing the details,” Miromanov said. “I feel like I wasn’t worrying about (the goal drought) too much because the last nine or so games we’ve been solid, with Weegsy, at five-on-five and it was just a matter of time.
“A lot of times when the offence isn’t coming you can’t force it, because you’re a D-man. You can’t get caught up in the offensive zone or you’ll have an odd-man rush coming towards our net. It’s just doing things the right way, I learned that when I was in junior where sometimes I was too focused on scoring and points and I would get away from my game.”
Miromanov’s game-winning goal against the Predators was a big one, and came during a stretch where he’s been playing much better hockey than he was at the beginning of the season.
Through the first eight games of the season, Miromanov was a minus-1. When the calendar flipped to November, though, something seemed to change. He’s a +6 in nine games since the start of the month and is finding ways to be impactful on both ends of the ice.
The Flames need that from him. He’s tasked with playing big minutes next to Weegar, after all.
“At the beginning of the year, I don’t know if ‘careful’ is the right word, he just didn’t impact the game in any way,” said Flames head coach Ryan Huska. “When Miro was at his best, from what we saw last year he was skating, he was involved and I felt like he was using his size to close on people quickly defensively. That wasn’t what we were seeing early in the year.
“Lately, I feel like we’re seeing that again. It’s probably because he feels a little more settled in his role and who he’s going to play with that he’s not going to be taken in and out of the lineup, I feel like that comes into it but we need him to keep taking steps, because we need him and his ability and his size in the back end to be a really good player for us.”
There have certainly been signs that Miromanov is getting back to his best. He was working to get back up to speed last season after knee surgery, but is healthy now and the improvement he’s showed in the last nine games has been encouraging.
His goal on Friday felt like a just reward for doing the right things.
“It means a lot,” Miromanov said. “When I came in last season, I scored a goal against Colorado at home and it was a great feeling and confidence booster. I’ve been getting some looks in the offence so it was great to feel that one go in, especially this important one. Definitely a confidence booster for me.”