CALGARY — As the Calgary Flames continue to defy expectations, delivering their latest victory on Tuesday night was Justin Kirkland, whose NHL journey has been just as improbable.
Nine days after scoring his first NHL goal, the 28-year-old journeyman centre scored his first shootout-deciding goal as the Flames rallied late for a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“I just heard my name called and I looked back to double check. Me? Me?” said Kirkland with a chuckle. “It was exciting. I knew I had a job to do, and that was to go out and try to score. Happy that it went in and obviously , he made a big save on the next one.Kirkland's goal came in the sixth round of the shootout. Dustin Wolf then denied Evgeni Malkin to clinch the win.
While Huska coached Kirkland during his days behind the bench for the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League, he knows Kirkland is a different guy now. “It's inspiring,” said Nazem Kadri, who tied the game with 43 seconds left in the third period and the goalie pulled. “I really had no idea of his story when he came up here. Learned more about him becoming my teammate and obviously scoring his first goal. So it's always a guy you're rooting for when he puts in the work as well, and he's a good teammate.”“It's special,” he said.
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