Flames receive ‘really good news’ on Smith
Calgary can breathe sigh of relief after workhorse netminder’s MRI on Monday
BOSTON Take a deep breath Calgary because Mike Smith’s lowerbody injury is not as bad as initially feared.
The Calgary Flames workhorse netminder underwent an MRI Monday and received some good news.
“Really good news, actually,” said Flames head coach Glen Gulutzan following Calgary ’s morning skate at TD Garden. “It’s not going to be as long or as bad as we thought. The update is he’s not going to play tonight (Tuesday) ... and he’s not going to play the next game (Thursday) in Nashville. But he’s day to day after that.”
Smith had been in considerable pain after he tried to make a save on John Tavares in the final seconds of Calgary’s 3-2 win over the New York Islanders Sunday.
With 1.1 seconds remaining, the 35-year-old — the Flames’ MVP all season — required assistance off the ice and gave the team quite a scare as they continue on this sixgame road trip.
As such, David Rittich, who was originally slated to start Tuesday ’s game against the Boston Bruins before Smith’s injury, takes over as the de facto No. 1, while Jon Gillies was recalled as a backup.
“The news comes at good time that it’s not as serious,” Gulutzan said. “This game wasn’t really on his path and he’s going to miss one in Nashville, obviously … sometimes the mental rest is good as long as the physical stuff, that he’s going to heal up. He’s a workhorse. But we’re just happy with the news.”
STIRRING THE BEANPOT
Following Monday’s 5-2 loss to the upstart Northeastern University at the storied Beanpot tournament, Brady Tkachuk, a forward with Boston University, watched the morning skate with his dad Keith Tkachuk, Flames general manager Brad Treliving and Brian Burke.
A mainstay event for the locals, the Beanpot is held on the first two Monday nights of February in Boston and is a tournament between Northeastern, Boston University, Boston College and Harvard University.
Timing worked out perfectly as the Flames had a night off Monday, allowing Matthew Tkachuk and his dad to watch his younger brother play in the final.
“It was my first college hockey game like that, so it was pretty fun,” Matthew said. “They had an unbelievable student section going back and forth. The chants were hilarious. It looked like a lot of fun for the guys.”
Although Brady, ranked No. 3 among North American skaters in the NHL Central Scouting midterm rankings, suffered a disappointing loss, the experience was well worth it.
“I don’t think he realizes how big it is,” said Matthew. “But my dad played in it (for Boston University) and it’s so big for the people of Boston. It’s just a huge tournament. He (Brady) was disappointed that he didn’t win, but I’m not. I thought he played fine.
“And don’t tell Johnny (Gaudreau), but I’d rather have Northeastern beat (Boston University) than BC (Boston College, Gaudreau’s alma mater).”
DIFFERENT WEIGHT CLASS
Ryan Lomberg summed it up nicely.
“Thought I’d step up to bat,” said the 23-year-old spark plug with a shrug. “Um … struck out.”
Chuckling at himself, Lomberg was discussing his heavyweight tilt with six-foot-five, 235-pound Ross Johnston, which came early on in Sunday’s 3-2 win over the New York Islanders at Barclays Center.
The only problem?
Lomberg is not a heavyweight. He’s generously listed at five-foot-nine and 187 pounds. It mattered not when he dropped the gloves after Johnston tried to start something with Garnet Hathaway.
After absorbing a few hard jabs and one wicked hook, Lomberg was down on the ice.
“It’s all good, it happens. It’s part of the job,” he said. “It’s an unreal feeling when the boys can rally around something like that. For them to get the win, it was a huge points for us. It was awesome.
“I’ve never been hit that hard … but I tried to learn from it. I might try to stay out of my weight class a little more.”
ICE CHIPS
RW Troy Brouwer skated with the team for the second straight day after breaking his cheek in three different places … The Bruins honoured the 40th anniversary of the 1977-78 team. The players were joined by Don Cherry, who was the coach at the time.