Ex-Canes bring plenty of bluster in Flames victory
Lindholm, Hanifin, Ryan all get on the board in front of fans that used to cheer for them but rained down boos Sunday
RALEIGH, N.C. — In his return to his old stomping grounds, Calgary Flames right-winger Elias Lindholm wasn’t feeling a lot of love from the fans at PNC Arena.
And if they weren’t going to clap, apparently he’d do it himself.
Just moments after sealing a 4-3 victory over his former squad Sunday, Lindholm raised his hands above his head for a purposeful clap, mimicking the so-called “Storm Surge” that has become a viral post-game tradition anytime the Carolina Hurricanes win on home ice. The locals were livid. There were rumblings in the Flames locker-room that one furious fan hurled a Lindholm jersey toward the ice.
“My name came up twice on the Jumbotron and I got booed,” Lindholm said. “So I think that’s a nice way to end it.”
It was a happy homecoming for Lindholm and Co.
And after witnessing Sunday’s ex-Hurricane hat trick, you can understand why the patrons at PNC Arena were, um, perturbed.
Lindholm, who toiled in Carolina for five seasons before being shipped to the Saddledome in a blockbuster swap in June, scored on a deflection off his shin pads.
Fourth-line centre Derek Ryan, who first achieved his big-league dream around these parts before flocking north in July as an unrestricted free agent, cashed in a wraparound for the Flames’ second strike of an emotional afternoon and assisted on Garnet Hathaway’s shortie with a dandy feed on a 2-on-1.
And defenceman Noah Hanifin, the other piece of the trade that landed Lindholm in Calgary and had both Dougie Hamilton and Micheal Ferland on the move the other way, blasted the eventual game-winner through traffic from the point.
It was also a special victory for Flames bench boss Bill Peters, who coached in Carolina the last four seasons before opting out of his contract and being hired in his home province.
All four were acknowledged during an early stoppage in play at PNC Arena, a welcome-back message met with a mixture of applause and boos.
“It’s kind of weird to be back here and play on the other side of the rink and dress in the other locker-room,” Lindholm said. “It’s kind of surreal that all of us scored. It’s nice, but two points is all that matters.”
Across the room, Hanifin echoed those sentiments.
“In these types of games, you just want to go out and win,” he said. “This is definitely a game that I’m sure we all had marked on the calendar. And it was nice that we all got to contribute.”
Indeed, you couldn’t have scripted it much better.
After Sebastian Aho trimmed the lead with a wicked one-timer with only 54.6 seconds left on the clock, both Lindholm and Hanifin were on the ice for a crucial defensive assignment in the final moments.
Ryan, the only Flames skater to collect multiple points in Sunday’s matinee, was wearing the Calgary Police Service cowboy hat after the game and earned rave reviews from his pals with Lindholm characterizing his wraparound — made possible because he sold Hurricanes goalie Petr Mrazek on a nifty fake — as “probably one of the nicest goals I’ve seen him score.”
“He has had a lot of good games in this building,” Peters said of Ryan. “Today was another one of them.”
Perhaps the difference Sunday was the Hurricanes didn’t have enough ex-Flames.
Hamilton, who also tickled twine in a 3-2 overtime setback at the Saddledome less than two weeks ago, contributed a goal and an assist.
Ferland was robbed by netminder David Rittich on a point-blank slapper, but still collected a pair of helpers and was the only guy on either side to post a plus-3 rating.
Teuvo Teravainen had the other marker for the home side.
The Canes, though, were no match for the familiar faces marking their returns.