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Flames shootout hero Kirkland couldn’t believe he got to shoot

Colton Pankiw
Colton Pankiw
|
Oct 23 2024, 12:00 pm
Flames shootout hero Kirkland couldn’t believe he got to shoot
Perry Nelson/Imagn Images

It wasn’t pretty, but the Calgary Flames were able to extend their point streak to six games thanks to a 4-3 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Aside from a strong seven minutes to open the game, the Flames were in chase mode most of the night, and found themselves down 3-2 with a minute to go. In their typical resilient fashion, however, they were able to force overtime thanks to a goal from Nazem Kadri with just 43 seconds remaining.

“We tied the game [late], that’s about as good as it gets,” Kadri said when asked what his reaction was following his goal. “When you’re 6-on-5, I’m not sure what the percentages are of scoring. I know the net is empty and it’s usually going back that way. It’s nice to come up big for our team.”

This one wound up going into a shootout, where, after five rounds, head coach Ryan Huska called on Justin Kirkland.

The 28-year-old made no mistake, continuing what has been an excellent story early on this season.

“I just heard my name called, I looked back to double check, ‘Me? Me? Ok.’ It was exciting. I had a job to do, and that was to go and score. Happy that it went in. Obviously [Dustin Wolf] made a big save on the next one. All in all, fantastic night. Just absolutely living the dream.”

He did admit, however, that excitement wasn’t the only feeling he was experiencing in the seconds prior to his big goal.

“It was the most nervous I’ve ever been. It’s just unbelievable.”

Though many on the outside were surprised to see Kirkland get the call as early as he did, those that have been around him were confident that he would deliver.

“If you look at the American League stuff, he scores all the time. I was kind of kicking myself for not going to him earlier, to be quite honest with you,” Huska said. “Guys that have played with him in the American League know that he’s pretty much automatic, so it was nice to see him score there tonight.”

As Kirkland mentioned, Wolf was able to stop Evgeni Malkin in the shootout to secure the win for the Flames. The 23-year-old is now 3-0-0 on the season and is undoubtedly playing his best hockey at the NHL level to date.

“Any time you get an opportunity, you want to put your best foot forward and show that you deserve to play in this league and you want to help your team win,” Wolf said.

With the victory, the Flames now have a Pacific Division best 5-0-1 record. They’ll look to extend their point streak to seven on Thursday night in a game versus the Carolina Hurricanes.

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