Journeyman Kirkland ‘absolutely living the dream’ with Calgary Flames

CALGARY – As the Calgary Flames continue to defy expectations, Justin Kirkland got his latest win on Tuesday night, whose journey in the NHL has been equally improbable.

Nine days after scoring his first NHL goal, the 28-year-old center scored his first decisive goal in a shootout as the Flames rallied late for a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

With 11 points in its first six games, Calgary (5-0-1) is off to its fastest start in franchise history, with Kirkland a fitting poster boy.

“I just heard my name called and looked back to check. My? Mine?” Kirkland said with a laugh. “It was exciting. I knew I had a job to do: go out and try to score. Happy I went in and obviously (Dustin Wolf), he made a great save on the next one.

“So all in all, fantastic night, just living the dream.”

Kirkland’s goal came in the sixth round of penalties. Dustin Wolf then denied Evgeni Malkin the victory.

“I played with (Kirkland) my first year pro at Stockton and as soon as I saw he was going for penalties, I knew we were going to win,” Wolf said. “He’s Mr. Automatic when it comes to gunfights, I don’t think I’ve seen him make a mistake yet.”

That scouting report was corroborated after the game by head coach Ryan Huska.

“Look at the American League stuff, he scores all the time. So I was kicking myself for not going to him sooner, to be honest with you,” Huska said.

Although Huska coached Kirkland during his days on the bench for the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League, he knows Kirkland is a different guy now.

“The guy at that time had more skill and little desire,” said the coach. “Now he’s changed and still has a great skill set, but I would say he’s more of a tough player than a skilled one now.”

Now, like everyone else in Calgary, Huska is enjoying watching Kirkland’s story.

A third-round pick by Nashville in 2014, the forward from Winnipeg, Man., entered the year with 412 games in the minors and just nine NHL games under his belt, during which he went scoreless.

He scored a goal and an assist, and has now won on penalties, in four games with the Flames.

“He’s a good person who worked a long time to try to get here and now he’s having some success,” Huska said. “So it’s a really good story for us to be a part of.”

“It’s inspiring,” said Nazem Kadri, who tied the game with 43 seconds left in the third period and the goalkeeper pulled. “I really had no idea about his story when he came here. I learned more about him becoming my teammate and obviously scoring his first goal. So it’s always a guy you root for when he works too, and he’s a good teammate.”

Kirkland is taking it all in.

“It’s special,” he said. “Just coming in every day, trying to have a good attitude, a good work ethic, and if I’m in the lineup, great, and any way I can help this team win, that’s what I’m willing to do.”

Calgary gave away several key pieces at last year’s trade deadline, opening up roster spots for guys like Kirkland. Now, the Reconstruction Flames continue to prove the skeptics wrong.

“We understand our expectations, but we also understand the expectations of the outside world,” Kadri said. “And I think that motivates us and fuels the fire a little bit. You always want to prove people wrong, and that’s what we’re trying to do this year.”

Defying those expectations takes the entire team, Wolf said.

“Every single person in this room is contributing, and that’s exactly what you need to win hockey games,” said the 23-year-old, who made 35 saves on Tuesday and four more on penalties.

“You can’t trust three, four, five guys. It takes a whole group and it’s been really cool to see how well we’ve done in the first six games. And we just need to keep our foot on the gas and keep moving forward.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.