Jersey native Gaudreau reaches a big milestone
NEW YORK >> It would have been difficult for Johnny Gaudreau to have picked a better spot to achieve his latest milestone.
The Salem native and Calgary Flames forward tallied two goals on Sunday to reach the 300-point plateau in just 320 career games, becoming the sixth-fastest in franchise history to do.
“It’s cool,” he said after the Flames 4-1 win over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. “It’s a cool accomplishment. It makes it better with a team win when you get an accomplishment like that.”
Gaudreau said he had friends and family in attendance — as he often does at games played near where he grew up before starring at Boston College and now as a four-time NHL All-Star — and chose to remain humble when asked if he was able to wrap his head around what he’d just done in front of them.
“I try not to think about it too, too much,” he said. “Hopefully, there’s many more to come. Hopefully. I’ve played with a lot of talented players throughout the years, and been very fortunate to play for some good coaches too. So, there’s a lot of thanks to them.”
One of those teammates would certainly be backup goaltender David Rittich, who turned in a world-class performance in making 44 saves in that win. Rittich deflected questions about playing time — 2018 All-Star Mike Smith currently sees the bulk of the workload in net — to head coach Bill Peters, who was quick to praise the game’s first star.
“I thought without him tonight, it’s going to be a different story,” Flames coach Bill Peters said. “That was a real big two points, and it’s on his back.”
“Every single game it’s so important for me,” Rittich added. “If I’m in the net, I want to show my best. You know, the backup role for goalies is hard. You don’t have too many games, but when you are in the net, you have to be good.”