Flames leaning on Czarnik and Co. with injuries piling up at forward
On Thursday against the Detroit Red Wings, Austin Czarnik logged the most ice time he has all year.
On the ice for just over 11 minutes (11:24), the 26-year-old played 16 shifts, including 2:51 of power-play time, which was part of the design of the Calgary Flames’ 5-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
The coaching staff wanted to keep everyone engaged in an attempt to squeeze as much depth out of the group as possible. It worked — eight players hit the score sheet. And Czarnik, who is part of the bottom-six forward group, was involved.
“It’s been a challenge, for sure, but you just have to stay positive and work at it,” he said. “Sooner or later something ’s going to happen for you ... (Thursday) they gave me an opportunity to be on the power play, so that’s a way to get more ice time, but now it’s my job to try to stay on it and just move forward from there.”
His previous outings early in this 2019-20 NHL season were 5:34 against the Philadelphia Flyers, 8:23 versus the San Jose Sharks and 3:56 against the Colorado Avalanche.
Against the Red Wings, he skated mostly with Mark Jankowski and Milan Lucic. Czarnik may never be mistaken for Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan or Elias Lindholm, but after logging 54 appearances last season with the Flames and scoring six goals and adding 12 assists, he’s an important element to the forward group.
And especially after Thursday’s clash, which saw Andrew Mangiapane disappear down the tunnel after an awkward collision into the boards.
The team did not skate on Friday and opted to fly straight to Los Angeles, where they’ll square off with the Kings during the late game on Hockey Night in Canada (8 p.m., CBC, Sportsnet 960 The Fan).
So no update was provided on Mangiapane, although the feeling is his injury is more serious than Lindholm’s, who was slashed in the back of the legs by Darren Helm in the same game.
If Mangiapane is out for an extended period of time, that means the Flames will be even more reliant on players like Czarnik to help shoulder the load.
“I think we’re a smart hockey team when we’re dialed in,” head coach Bill Peters said of his group, which is 4-3-1 after Thursday’s victory. “We want everybody to feel like they’re a part of it because they are. And we need everybody to find a way to contribute.”
Czarnik is ready whenever his name is called. “You have to be ready to go on all cylinders. That’s my mindset right now.”