Hanifin’s two goals highlight offensive prowess
Young off-season acquisition an ideal complement to stay-at-home Hamonic
Of all the changes made to the Calgary Flames roster last summer, Noah Hanifin’s impact has flown relatively under the radar through the first 24 games.
He’s not James Neal, who arrived as a perennial 20-goal scorer with Stanley Cup contender experience.
He’s not Elias Lindholm, who stormed on the scene in the same deal that brought Hanifin to Calgary and has 23 points (11 goals and 12 assists) while playing an integral part of the team’s top line.
He’s not even Bill Peters, who, in his first year as the Flames’ bench boss, has led the team to a 14-9-1 record.
But after two goals in Sunday’s 6-1 win over the Arizona Coyotes — his first two in Flames silks — Hanifin, it seems, has officially arrived, emerging as one of Calgary’s up-and-coming offensive defenceman.
“It’s always in the back of your head when you haven’t scored,” the six-foot-three, 215-pounder said with a shrug following his impressive performance against a listless Coyotes team. “I was pretty pumped about it, just getting it off my back and putting one in the net and helping to contribute in that aspect of the game. It was nice to get two. Some good plays by our forwards.
“A lot of special team goals out there. It was pretty good to see.”
Kind of like his first goal as a Flame, which came with 3:38 remaining in the first period. It proved to be an opportunistic short-handed tally which came from behind the goal-line in the corner and was really a pass meant for Garnet Hathaway out in front of Antti Raanta.
The second one was a powerplay goal, a puck retrieval from Neal’s shot off the end boards which he threw on the beleaguered Arizona netminder.
Hanifin became only the third defenceman in Flames history to score a power-play goal and short-handed marker in the same game, joining Mark Giordano and Al MacInnis.
TJ Brodie and Mark Jankowski also had shorties.
“Three short-handed goals, a power-play goal, a different type of game,” Hanifin said. “Hey, it just shows, anything can happen. You just have to be ready.”
And that’s just it. Hanifin has been ready and has proven to be a mobile part of the Flames’ defence corps.
He sits ninth on the team with 39 shots on net, right under Sam Bennett (41) and Matthew Tkachuk (54). He’s averaging the fourth-most ice time (20:15) and is being utilized on the team’s second power play unit.
But the fact that he’s developed chemistry with Travis Hamonic, a steady, stay-at-home defender, has helped him with his confidence to rush the puck and has made the transition to a new team that much easier.
“For me, it’s been a lot easier to get used to playing with Hammer because he’s so solid defensively,” said Hanifin, who has two goals and nine assists in 24 games along with three power play points. “He’s been giving me a lot more leeway to jump up.
“He was hurt there for a bit so I wasn’t playing with him. Now, he gives me a lot of room to jump up and create some offence.”
Flames head coach Bill Peters has noticed it, too.
“There’s lots of different things there,” he said. “There’s the leftyrighty (combo). There’s a young guy, old guy. I think Hanny would look up to Hammer. Hammer is real good with all the young guys, the way he talks to them on the bench. He’s been there, done that. Hammer is a big piece of our team.
“When he’s playing with Hanny and they’re both playing to their potential, it’s a real good pair.”
When Flames general manager Brad Treliving made the summer deal to acquire Hanifin, who had 10 goals and 22 assists in 79 games last season, many wondered where Dougie Hamilton’s departed offence would come from. Hamilton had 17 goals and 27 assists in 82 games in 2017-18. The year before that, he netted 13 goals and 37 assists in 81 games.
Hanifin is only 21 years old, turning 22 on Jan. 25. Because of the way he was deployed in Carolina for his first three NHL seasons — he was a fifth overall pick by the Hurricanes in 2015 — he has amazingly already played in 263 NHL contests.
In the last 11 games, Hanifin has two goals and seven assists.
“I’ve been feeling good,” Hanifin said. “Starting off offensively, it was a little dry at the beginning and now it’s starting to get going for me a little bit more. I’ve been getting more and more chances. That happens when you come to a new team and are learning about them and the assets on your team.
“It’s something I’m trying to get used to.”
And that’s part of the Flames’ defensive strategy, to stay mobile on the back end. According to Peters, Hanifin and Hamonic’s chemistry is only going to get better.
“Our team, when we manage the puck, our ‘D’ is very active,” Peters said. “You see it with all six of them. Hanny’s a guy that’s really starting to skate real well. It’s noticeable. Dynamic with the puck offensively and defensively, his gaps have been impeccable the last three or four games.
“With Hanny and Hammer, the more they play together, the more they’ll be able to read off of each other and continue to grow and get better.”