The Calgary Flames had a very good team in 2021-22. Well, part of their issue now is they no longer have Johnny Gaudreau who was one of their best players over the last handful of years. He left in free agency to join the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Once he chose the Blue Jackets as his new team, everyone marked Monday’s game between the two teams on the calendar, as it would be his first-ever return as a road player. Now, the game is in the rearview mirror and I can honestly say that it was an incredible night for all spectators.
The crowd booed Gaudreau the second the Blue Jackets took the ice for warmups. That started again every time he touched the puck once the game started. They did, however, cheer him loudly during the first TV timeout when the Flames played him a welcome-back tribute video.
Once the video was done and play resumed, so did the boos. It was great theatre, as that has become expected in the NHL these days. Whenever a player leaves and then comes back, his old fans always give them a not-so-warm welcome.
Johnny Gaudreau’s return to Calgary made for a truly electric evening in Alberta.
The game was equally as electric. In the first period, the Blue Jackets were as outplayed as a team can be for a period. Somehow, the Jackets only escaped being down 1-0. 1:32 into the second, Nazem Kadri (who is pretty much Gaudreau’s salary replacement) made it 2-0.
It really looked like the Flames were going to run Johnny’s new team out of the building. Then Johnny Gaudreau started to take over a little bit. Instead of letting that happen, he made two amazing plays to earn primary assists on goals by Kirill Marchenko and Patrik Laine.
Later in the second, Andrew Mangiapane was the beneficiary of a great play made by Blake Coleman and Mikael Backlund to get the lead back. That wouldn’t last either though as Patrick Laine’s great play early in the third sent Boone Jenner into the zone and he did not miss.
Jenner had a two-on-one with Johnny Gaudreau. Instead of forcing a bad pass to the headline player of the game, Jenner made a veteran play to take the shot, and he buried his 13th of the season. Gaudreau was the decoy and didn’t collect an assist.
The game eventually got to overtime. Mangiapane found himself in a two-on-one with Dillon Dube who took advantage of a very nice pass to win the game for the Flames.
Calgary doesn’t score as many goals as the other teams in contention, but they did outshoot the Jackets 49-25, which is a crazy ratio. You have to wonder if a pure scorer is on their radar at the trade deadline this year.
One of the game’s highlights came when Johnny Gaudreau was awarded a penalty shot. The superstar making his return to an arena was awarded the most exciting play in hockey. It is literally poetry. Luckily for Flames fans, he had the glove beat but he shot it wide of the net.
This game literally had everything and reminded fans why it is they love the game of hockey so much. Now, Gaudreau and the Jackets will roll through the rest of the season with Connor Bedard on their mind while the Flames fight tooth and nail to reach the postseason. It will be fun to watch.