Phillips gives Flames big spark
FLAMES 7 SHARKS 5
At 10:23 a.m. Tuesday, Matthew Phillips was going through his normal pre-skate routine and stretching for what he thought would be an 11:30 a.m. practice with prospects and professional tryout players.
At 10:24 a.m., Bill Peters told him otherwise.
“He said, ‘I want you out there (at 10:30 a.m.) ’cause you’re on the power play, so hurry up,’ ” the 20-year-old forward said, grin plastered on his face after skating with the NHLers. “I got out there a minute early, so it was good.
“When I got told to talk to Bill, I thought he was going to tell me I wasn’t playing (Tuesday). Instead, he told me to get out on the ice.”
Phillips may not make the Calgary Flames this season, which will be his first professional campaign.
But you can guarantee that if he continues contributing like he did Tuesday in a 7-5 win over the San Jose Sharks — who resembled their American Hockey League squad — Flames brass will not forget.
Either way, Phillips wasn’t going to lose sleep about it. Even with more training camp cuts coming, likely on Wednesday.
“Usually I’m pretty good about going to bed,” said Phillips, whose second-period goal ignited a fourgoal outburst. “I’ll put on Netflix or something. Crush some highlights ... and shut ’er down.”
Whether or not Phillips is still here Wednesday morning, there are bigger goals in his mind.
“There are people in this organization that like me as a player,” said Phillips, who was one of the most impressive Flames prospects Tuesday. “If I just be honest with myself and work hard every day, that’s all I can ask of myself. If you get too caught up in line combinations and who is playing and practices, you’re going to go crazy. I just need to come here and do business as usual and see what happens.”
What happened was a post-game shout-out from Peters, singling out Phillips’ line with Curtis Lazar and Glenn Gawdin. Gawdin made a big play behind the net to free the puck, while Lazar spotted Phillips in front of the net and fed him a perfect pass to tap in.
Phillips’ goal opened the floodgates for Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau. Instead of trailing 4-2, the Flames were tied 5-5 heading into the third.
“They led the way there,” Peters said. “They gave us a little bit of energy there … (Phillips) is a real smart player. That’s what you’re seeing now: speed, smarts, puck pressure. He’s a guy who finds a way each and every level he plays at. A real good career in the Western Hockey League. We were doing the roster a day or two ago … a lot of guys went to bat for Matthew Phillips”
Sam Bennett scored the go-ahead goal at 5:43 of the final frame, getting some help from linemate Mark Jankowski who was planted in front of Antoine Bibeau’s net. Austin Czarnik added an empty netter with 1:14 remaining.
The other storyline Tuesday was the battle of Flames backups David Rittich and Jon Gillies.
Rittich was lit up for four goals on 18 shots.
Gillies finished the night allowing one goal on 11 shots.