There was no better place in the league for Ryan Strome to celebrate a milestone like this.
One month after the Anaheim Ducks’ 13th forward was traded away to the Flames, he returned to southern California to record his 500th NHL point Saturday night.
He did it in style, with a breakaway finish in front of his wife, three children, in-laws and two benches full of teammates past and present who admire the man for his leadership and class.
His goal snapped a 1-1 tie early in the second period to give the Flames a lead they would not relinquish in a 5-3 road win.
What’s more, it took a little pressure off him in a family battle he joked about before the game.
“It probably took a little longer this year than I would have expected,” said Strome of the milestone, which was delayed by the fact he was essentially the odd-man out in Anaheim this year as part of the Ducks’ youth movement.
“My brother (Dylan) is kind of catching up to me, and he's four years younger than me, so I gotta really get my butt in gear here.”
He’s done exactly that since joining the Flames, picking up 11 points in 15 games, which is a vast departure from the nine points in 33 games he had in Anaheim before the Flames acquired him for a seventh-round pick.
The difference in Calgary, obviously, is opportunity.
“I mean, I just really wasn't playing,” he said of his fourth year with the Ducks.
“When you're playing fourth line and you're playing eight minutes a game some games, five minutes a game, it's tough. I have a lot more respect for guys that have done it for a long time in their career, now that I've been through it, and I've never had to deal with that in my career.”
For the record, Dylan has 439 points as one of Washington’s top players.
A Frosty 20
Late in the second period, Morgan Frost hit the 20-goal milestone for the first time in his career after taking a long pass from Olli Maatta and finishing with a series of jukes and jives to beat Ville Husso. It put the Flames up 4-1 and helped Frost fulfill an early season goal he’d come close to three years ago in Philly when he finished with 19.
He also won a huge draw in the final 90 seconds with Anaheim’s goalie pulled, and seconds later potted his second of the game into the open cage.
His 41 points are only five short of his career-high.
Ryan Huska has spoken of late about Frost emerging from the shadow of Nazem Kadri after the veteran was traded, but the reality is Frost has been one of the top two or three forwards for the Flames all season long.
His combination of silky-smooth hands and sublime skating should make him the favourite to open next season as the organization’s top centre.
Record intact
The Flames extended their obscure record to 56 consecutive wins when scoring four goals or more. Despite a 4-1 lead after two periods, built on the back of goals from Joel Farabee, Matvei Gridin, Frost and Strome, the result was very much in doubt in the third as the Ducks scored twice in the third.
Alas, Devin Cooley stood tall as the game’s first star to make several of his 36 saves in the final few minutes to preserve the two points Anaheim would so desperately have liked.
It was Calgary’s first win in the opening three games of this, their final road trip of the year.
Draft talk
A lot was made about the Flames’ six-game point streak at home last week threatening the team’s draft pick status.
However, the Canucks were never going to be caught as the league’s worst team, leaving the Flames in a race with Chicago and a few others for second and third-worst.
Even after the Flames win Saturday, the Flames still sit third-last, just two points up on Chicago, which also won Saturday. The Rangers also won Saturday to stay a point ahead of the Flames.
If the lottery were to be held now, the Flames’ draft lottery odds would look like this:
• 1st overall pick: 11.5%
• 2nd overall pick: 11.2%
• 3rd overall pick: 7.8%
• 4th overall pick: 39.7%
• 5th overall pick: 29.8%
The good news for Flames fans is that with six games left, they still have several tough opponents on the docket, including three on the road against Dallas, Colorado and desperate Seattle, followed by three at home against Utah, Colorado and L.A.
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