Mangiapane's clutch goal added an extra reason to celebrate reaching the 400-game mark
Andrew Mangiapane made no bones about what it meant to reach a significant milestone and make his mark in it.
Amidst the 4-2 victory he and the Calgary Flames earned against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, Mangiapane’s clutch goal was the cherry on top of playing his 400th career game.
Despite being the better team from the drop of the puck, the Flames fell behind 1-0 past the midway point. On the next shift, Mangiapane was sprung on a breakaway and netted his 12th goal of the season.
“A little bit of an up-and-down roller coaster for me coming into the league, so playing 400 games and scoring in it is definitely a nice feeling,” the forward said.
“I didn’t know if I was going to play one NHL game. To get to 400 means a lot for me,” he added.
Sure, now it won’t be a shock if Mangiapane, 27, skates in another 400 or more NHL games, but getting to this point was hardly a sure-fire proposition. He was not drafted into the OHL despite being a minor hockey star. Despite consecutive 100-point campaigns with the Barrie Colts, the 2015 sixth-round pick was considered a little small to make it in the big leagues and spent most of a couple of seasons in the minors — where he was coached by now-Flames bench boss Ryan Huska.
“There’s a few of them — Andrew, Oliver (Kylington), Ras (Rasmus Andersson) — I’ve been around I feel like forever and they probably don’t like it,” Huska said with a chuckle. “But I do like it. They’re great players and for Andrew to be at 400 is probably a level as a young guy he probably never thought was possible and other people probably didn’t.”
Mangiapane, part of Calgary’s effective shutdown-line with Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman, has made a transition from being a scoring star in the junior ranks to a strong two-way player, which will help him reach more milestone games.
“He’s a competitive guy and wants to help the team win,” Huska said. “If that means it’s him scoring a goal, killing penalties or getting chances on the power play, that’s what he’s willing to do.”
Now, three more thoughts after a game in which Yegor Sharangovich broke a slump and the Flames kept their playoff hopes alive.
- If — more likely when — Noah Hanifin is traded before the March 8 deadline, it will certainly be while at the top of his game. Hanifin, a pending unrestricted free agent, followed up a monster performance in Saturday’s 6-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers with a sparkling effort against the Kings. He sent a beautiful pass that sprung Mangiapane’s breakaway goal, while posting a plus-3 rating on top of fantastic analytical efforts.
- Speaking of pending UFAs likely to be dealt, Chris Tanev received an offensive boost with a pair of assists while delivering his usual standout defensive play. Flames fans understandably are hoping for a big return in trades that send Tanev and Hanifin away, but will miss what they are capable of delivering on a regular basis.
- When the dust settled, Jacob Markstrom made 20 saves against the Kings, but that seemingly low total belied his play. According to naturalstattick.com, the Kings registered 10 high-danger chances to Calgary’s seven, and had a 5-0 edge in the third period. Markstrom stopped all 12 shots he faced in the final frame. With the way he’s playing, Markstrom may still backstop the Flames into a playoff position even if Tanev and Hanifin are traded away.