There’s a good chance Mikael Lindholm will remember this one as much as any of the 18 games he played in the NHL 30 years earlier.
Watching alongside the rest of the dads/brothers/mentors travelling with the Flames the last two games, Lindholm would have been thrilled enough to witness to his son, Elias, play in his 500th NHL game.
However, the 25-year-old Flames winger made the milestone night in Chicago much more special with two goals, which included his 300th point and the game-winner, in a 2-1 victory over the Blackhawks on Tuesday.
Symbolic of how dynamic a player the former fifth-overall pick is, Lindholm was also on the ice in the final minute to help preserve the win.
One can only imagine how satisfying and jovial a flight home it was afterward to wrap up a perfect 2-0 trip for the Flames and their special supporters.
Now the trick is to figure out how the team can afford to bring the dads along for the ride more often.
Perhaps they’d be better off gathering them in Calgary instead, where the team has been far less successful of late.
The comeback win gives the Flames an 8-1-1 road record in their last 10, compared to a 1-4-1 run at the Dome of late.
“I think overall we keep it simple (on the road) and don’t try to force stuff,” said Lindholm following his memorable night.
“We have more patience on the road and we have to bring that back home.”
[snippet id=4748264]
The Flames counted on a strong start from Cam Talbot to limit the damage to just one in the first. Dominik Kubalik deflected a long point shot past Talbot with 32 seconds left in the frame, setting up a second period in which Lindholm struck just 14 seconds in.
Much like his first goal, his second came on a beautiful setup from Matthew Tkachuk, which Lindholm slapped home with a one-timer past a sharp Corey Crawford late in the second.
His dad, who played 404 games in the Swedish Elite League and 18 with Kelly Hrudey’s Los Angeles Kings, was beaming in the dads’ suite while wearing Elias’s no. 28 jersey.
“It’s always nice to have a goal during the 500th game, but for him and the team, the win is all that matters,” said Lindholm, who has a team-leading 18 goals this season.
“Obviously, the first period wasn’t good for us, but I thought we picked it up and played a good road game.”
As did Talbot, who made two huge stops on Patrick Kane in the second period to help turn the game around.
“He kept us in it – it was a huge game for him,” said Lindholm of Talbot’s 31-save performance.
[snippet id=4167285]
Lindholm has played the third-most games from the 2013 draft class, behind Seth Jones (510) and Sean Monahan (515).
His play last season was instrumental in turning the Johnny Gaudreau/Monahan combination into one of the NHL’s best lines.
This season he has largely played on a separate line, moving from wing to centre under interim coach Geoff Ward to anchor the team’s top trio with Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane.
Some argue he’s the Flames’ best forward, given his 200-foot game, offensive prowess and versatility, which includes killing penalties as he did successfully on two occasions Tuesday.
Tkachuk’s two assists give him 11 points his last 9 games, as well as the team lead with nine multi-point games this season.
Lindholm is now tied with Monahan and Gaudreau with eight multi-point outings this year.
QUICK HITS
• Monahan’s eight-game goal-scoring streak against the Hawks came to an end. It was the longest active goal-scoring streak against any team in the league.
• In the midst of an impressive second period, the Flames were unable to convert on a lengthy 5-on-3 power play. They were stymied on another 5-on-3 in the third. The Flames are one of 10 teams in the NHL that don’t have a goal during a two-man advantage. That said, Mikael Backlund scored for the Flames while down two men last week against the Rangers.
• Lindholm’s evening marked the 10th time in his career he’s scored multiple times in a game. It puts him just 128 multi-goal games behind Alex Ovechkin, who pulled a similar trick for the 138th time Tuesday.
• Hawks forward Dylan Strome left the game with an apparent right ankle injury after it buckled before he fell awkwardly into the end boards following a collision with Oliver Kylington.
• Gaudreau had another strong night but had little to show for it, robbed by Crawford with a brilliant pad save to stop a slapper from entering what appeared to be an open net. Gaudreau has a goal and five helpers in six games since Christmas.
UP NEXT:
The Flames return home to host Minnesota on Thursday and the Oilers on Saturday.
[relatedlinks]
