Captain Giordano has a game for the ages
Flames’ captain had night to remember against Avs
Five-year-old Jack Giordano was likely fast asleep for Thursday’s crazy comeback.
Even though his dad doesn’t brag about his big nights, Jack must have been impressed when he logged on the next morning.
“My little guy at home, he likes checking the stats and the scores on his iPad now. He’s old enough to go on and check,” reported Flames captain Mark Giordano. “So he’ll be pretty excited.”
Should be.
The Flames’ heart-and-soul enjoyed a career night in Thursday’s 6-5 triumph over the Colorado Avalanche at the Saddledome, ripping the go-ahead goal during that third-period frenzy and also racking up three assists.
Jack won’t have to scroll too far to find this familiar name among the NHL’s top producers from the point.
Heading into Friday’s slate, Toronto Maple Leafs smoothie Morgan Rielly was leading all back-enders with 16 points. Jack’s proud pops, meanwhile, was tied for next-best with 15 scoresheet mentions — a pair of pottings and a team-high 13 assists.
(To put his current total in perspective, Giordano hit the holiday break last winter with 14 points in 36 outings).
Soon after the Flames evened the score in the third period of Thursday’s comeback thriller, the 35-year-old defenceman joined a rush, announced his presence with a shout so loud that it was likely heard as far out as new communities like Legacy and Livingston and then — after a feed from centre Mikael Backlund — snapped a sizzler between Avalanche puck-stopper Semyon Varlamov and his blocker side post.
“He has a great shot that everybody knows about, and he makes great little plays, too,” praised Flames left-winger Matthew Tkachuk, who also collected three helpers against the crew from Colorado. “And then he’s smart in his decision-making. He’s not forcing anything.
“But I think the big thing with him is he’s not a guy who plays 2527 minutes and they look like easy minutes. He’s not one of those guys that you think, ‘Oh, he could play 30 minutes without even breaking a sweat.’
“He’s battling out there every shift. He’s working so hard. He’s the hardest-worker on our team and to see that out of our captain, that’s what you want.”
What the Flames want, first and foremost, from Giordano and his sidekick TJ Brodie is to silence the go-to guys on the opposing side.
On Thursday, they were asked to stifle Colorado’s top-line trio of Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen, who’d just been feted as the NHL’s first star for the month of October.
Those guys combined for a grand total of one point in their visit to the Saddledome.
Giordano notched four of his own.
Whoa.
“I feel like throughout my career, it always come in waves,” Giordano replied when asked about his offensive stat-line after Friday’s optional practice. “Sometimes, you get numbers when you are not playing as well as you think you should be. And then other times, when you’re playing really well, they don’t come.
“I thought we had a big assignment last night with MacKinnon’s line, and that was the No. 1 goal. I think that’s what we take more pride in is trying to shut those lines down.”
Fair enough.
But young Jack likes to track the numbers, and his father has provided plenty of fodder during a four-game point spree.
Giordano provided a dandy assist on Johnny Gaudreau’s overtime winner in Buffalo.
Two nights later, back home in Calgary, he seemed to factor every time the locals turned the red light on.
The captain is one of five Flames currently averaging upwards of a point per game. He also owns a plus-10 rating, tops on the team.
“Good reads, good patience, knows when to jump,” assessed Flames head coach Bill Peters. “He’s not a high-risk guy. You know, a lot of guys are up the ice in unrealistic situations, but he has good timing.
“He’s a good skater so he can come from late, beat forwards up the ice. That’s basically what happened in Buffalo. That’s basically what happened on his goal (Thursday).
“He comes from a long way away, adds that second layer in the offensive zone. He’s done a real good job of that.”
The points prove it.
Next up for Giordano & Co. is Saturday’s clash with the Chicago Blackhawks at the Saddledome (8 p.m., CBC/Sportsnet 960 The Fan.)
My little guy at home, he likes checking the stats and the scores on his iPad now. He’s old enough to go on and check. So he’ll be pretty excited.