Flames singing Huberdeau’s praises after milestone night

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Jonathan Huberdeau had plenty of reasons to celebrate after the Calgary Flames 3-2 win over the New York Rangers last night.

The playmaking winger was able to record the 500th assist of his career on a game-winning goal from Connor Zary at the midway point of the third period.

Huberdeau becomes just the 23rd active player in the NHL to hit the illusive milestone, and was given plenty of praise from his teammates afterward.

“I hope he can look back and kind of reflect on his career. When you hit a milestone like that, it’s pretty impressive, 500 assists, guys dream about even 500 points,” MacKenzie Weegar said. “It hasn’t been an easy road at times for Huby, so I hope he sits back, maybe has a glass of wine, and just enjoys that he got to 500 assists.”

The assist wasn’t just big for Huberdeau, either. It helped Zary snap a six-game goal drought, and could serve as a catalyst to get the young forward going.

“It’s pretty cool to be part of,” Zary said. “You have 500 of anything it’s probably pretty good. To hear that come over the PA system is pretty incredible. Cool moment for us.”

With that said, the night could have been remembered much differently for Huberdeau, who had a major gaffe late after hitting the post on an empty net. The Rangers were able to take the puck the other way, but failed to tie things up, which allowed for some jokes to be made afterward.

“Next question,” Huberdeau said with a laugh when asked what happened. “No, that’s embarrassing. That’s insane.

“I feel bad for [Nazem Kadri], easy free points. But, we got the win. Let’s change the subject.”

Jokes aside, it was quite evident how much reaching the illusive mark meant to him, especially given that it came in a win.

“Yeah, it was good,” Huberdeau said. “Took awhile to get that one, but it felt good to get on the game winner.”

This wasn’t your typical game from the Flames. Instead of coming from behind as they’ve done often this season, they instead found themselves up 2-0 at the midway point of the second period, while holding a 35-11 lead in the shot department.

The Rangers were able to get two late in the second to even things up heading into the final frame, but the Flames were able to persevere and walk away with two points in what many, including head coach Ryan Huska, thought was one of their better efforts of the season.

“I liked our game. There were a few stretches where we got a little bit loose and we gave them a little bit too much space, but all in all I thought it was a good night for us,” Huska explained.

With the win, the Flames have improved to 11-6-3 on the season, and are now just one point out of first place in the Pacific Division.

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