Jakob Pelletier scored a promotion.
And then scored the game-winning goal for the Calgary Flames.
It continued to get better and better as he was tapped for Thursday’s first-star spin at the Saddledome, then received a major compliment from his coach.
“That’s the best game I’ve seen him play in the NHL,” said Flames skipper Ryan Huska of Pelletier’s work in a 5-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres. “And hopefully, it’s a sign of some great things to come for him.”
With the Flames off to a lackluster start and having just surrendered the tying tally, Huska shuffled his forward deck in the early stages of Thursday’s middle frame, boosting Pelletier to skate with Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri on the top line.
The 23-year-old certainly made the most of the opportunity, first earning an assist, then draining a deflection for the go-ahead goal and almost hoisting Sabres forward Tyson Kozak into the home bench with a big hit.
While Huberdeau and Kadri officially led the attack with three points apiece, there’s no arguing that No. 22 provided the biggest spark.
“Pelts brought great energy tonight,” Kadri said. “He was a threat on the offensive and defensive side, blocked some shots … He was doing a little bit of everything. That’s what we want to see out of him. I really liked his game tonight.”
Starting with that lots-to-like showing from Pelletier, here are three takeaways from the Flames’ victory on Canadian Armed Forces Appreciation Night at the Saddledome …
Pelletier proving versatility
Pelletier shouldn’t have to check the lineup board prior to Saturday’s matchup with the Wild in Minnesota.
Although it may be habit.
Over the past three games, the buzzsaw winger has switched sidekicks so often that he might wonder if he’s officially become a rover.
A week ago in St. Louis, he was logging his shifts with Yegor Sharangovich and Rory Kerins.
Two nights later in Winnipeg, he started with Ryan Lomberg and Kevin Rooney, although he was bounced around as the evening wore on.
Before the shuffle against the Sabres, he was with Lomberg and Clark Bishop, the latest call-up from the AHL’s Wranglers. (Bishop, Kerins and Andrei Kuzmenko were all stuck spectating as Huska shortened his bench in Thursday’s final frame.)
“I’m just playing the same way,” Pelletier said. “I’m playing the same as I am on the fourth line, third line, second line, first line, whatever … I think it’s worked for me since I’m young, and I don’t plan to change that.”
That versatility is certainly an asset as this fountain-of-positivity continues to solidify his status as a full-timer at the NHL level.
In 20 games since being recalled from the minors, Pelletier has contributed four goals and 11 points and is now tied for the team lead at plus-10.
Martin Pospisil’s crash-and-bang style was, for a stretch, a nice side-dish to the skill that Huberdeau and Kadri bring, but that combination seemed to run stale.
While Pospisil is more of a physical presence, Pelletier offers a similar dash of speed.
“I’ve just gotta play the same way,” Pelletier reiterated before a correction-of-sorts. “But try to play with some more offence, try to produce more, because you’re with the big dogs.”
Huberdeau scores another
After a desperate dive left the closest opponent sliding on his belly through the neutral zone, Huberdeau shoulder-checked on his shorthanded breakaway during Thursday’s first period, seeing Pelletier in his rearview mirror.
At that moment, 17,000-some fans at the Saddledome were all thinking the same thing … He wasn’t really thinking pass, was he? He wouldn’t, would he?
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen must have been wondering too, because the Buffalo Sabres netminder barely moved as Huberdeau sizzled a low shot through his legs.
“I looked back to see if my son was coming,” Huberdeau said with a massive smile. “And I think he was coming, but he was a little slow. I just said, ‘Why not take a shot?’ ”
While he’ll always have a reputation as a pass-first sort, and will always consider himself as such, good things are happening when the 31-year-old Huberdeau calls his own number.
He is already up to 19 tallies and 35 points on the season. He is on track for both a career-high and a career-first — he has never finished a campaign with more goals than assists.
The Flames’ leading marksman has also scored the icebreaker on seven occasions, tied for tops in the league when it comes to lighting the first lamp of the evening. (He shares that perch with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl.)
“Just preparation … I think I’m ready to go right off the start and getting some good bounces,” Huberdeau reasoned after being informed of that stat during Thursday’s post-game scrum. “Obviously, getting a breakaway on the P.K., it doesn’t happen all the time. It’s just getting these bounces and then trying to be in the right position at the right time and capitalizing on it, as well.”
Penalty-killing was a positive
With fewer than five minutes remaining, Kadri was called for a faceoff violation.
Even closer to the final buzzer, Daniil Miromanov was busted for a puck over the glass.
A pair of untimely penalties, but the Flames were able to go unscathed on both.
This was, in fact, their finest penalty-killing performance of the season.
They were six-for-six in shorthanded situations.
They were …
“Amazing, amazing,” Kadri said. “Those were a long couple minutes in there, let me tell you. It’s awesome to see our P.K. fighting for one another. That’s an area where we’ve wanted to improve and I think those guys did a tremendous job tonight and really helped solidify the win.”
Dustin Wolf certainly did his part. He made seven of his 32 saves when the Flames were down a man.
Their season-long stats still need plenty of polish — they’re sitting at only 72.6 percent, the fourth-worst success rate in the league — but Calgary’s penalty-killers could puff out their chests Thursday. (Kevin Bahl deserves an individual shout-out after 6:24 of icetime on the outnumbered side of special teams.)
“I thought it was the difference for us, really,” Huska assessed after his squad opened up a three-point gap in the race for the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference.
“Penalty-kill, we’ve struggled most of the year, so we needed to fix that,” Huberdeau added. “It’s never going to be always pretty but I think now we’re playing better, playing more aggressive. That’s what we have to keep doing.”
Mikael Backlund’s late empty netter also counted as a shortie as Miromanov was still in the sin bin.