Flames journeyman Justin Kirkland the unlikely hero in first Battle of Alberta

EDMONTON — It looked, for the longest time, like the star of the latest Battle of Alberta would be Jamie Pringle.

Two successful challenges for the Calgary Flames’ video coach, including one the hockey world surely thought he was wrong on, were a big part of a 4-1 win at Rogers Place.

But in the end, the game hero was perhaps even more unfamiliar to Flames fans than Pringle.

His name: Justin Kirkland.     

Scoring his first NHL goal at age 28 to pad a 2-1 lead the Flames ultimately held on to, you could see, hear and feel the emotion afterward as he discussed the night of his dreams.

After all, this is a lad who is 10 years, more than 400 AHL games, and a serious car accident removed from being a third round draft pick. 

Yet, there he was, two games into his call-up as a Flames fourth liner, calmly lifting a backhanded rebound past Stuart Skinner to ice the prohibitive Cup favourites with 10 minutes left.

“Almost like the weight of the world off my shoulder,” said the beaming Winnipeg native, trembling with excitement over his monumental breakthrough. 

“It means the world, especially on a night like this, in the Battle of Alberta.

“Friends and family all over watching, it’s special. Couldn’t have drawn it up any better.”

No you couldn’t have, especially since Kirkland’s checking unit with Ryan Lomberg and Matt Coronato spent a good chunk of its night stymying Connor McDavid and the Oilers’ top trio.

“Obviously he’s the best player in the world, but it’s a little extra motivation too,” smiled Kirkland, who has sprinkled his 11 NHL games over the last three seasons. 

“I want to go out there and prove myself against him. This is a fantastic night.”

Summoned from the Wranglers Thursday for the injured Kevin Rooney, there’s a chance his latest NHL stint will end abruptly, like it did after he returned from the horrifying Jan. 8, 2023 car crash.

Three months after recovering from the highway accident that almost took his life, the Ducks waived him, ending his first NHL audition. 

But he’s determined to try doing what Martin Pospisil and Connor Zary did last year by forcing the team to keep him.

Recording one of the biggest hits of the game earlier when he pasted Leon Draisaitl on a savvy backcheck, he was also plus-2 in almost 10 minutes of work.

“I want to be up in the NHL, I’m living out my childhood dream right now,” he said after posing proudly with the milestone puck.

“It’s extra special. This is where I want to be.”

Kirkland’s story is the type of tale Flames fans hope to hear often as the team continues to offer opportunities to hard-working farmhands capable of making good on well-earned auditions.

Only two years older, but armed with 498 NHL games, Anthony Mantha had scored the game-winner two minutes earlier when he capped a lengthy schooling of McDavid’s line by roofing a rebound with Zach Hyman all over him.  

It was his 300^th NHL point, lifting the Flames to a 3-0 start no one saw coming.

The win came courtesy of two goals overturned by coach’s challenges, including a risky one on a Corey Perry deflection at the top of the crease that appeared to have the Oilers up 2-0 late in the first.

The review determined Perry had a “significant presence in the crease, which impaired Vladar’s ability to play his position prior to the goal.”  

Few thought the review stood a chance, including Vladar. 

“To be honest with you, I thought it was a regular goal,” shrugged Vladar, who made 25 saves and also benefited from a second period goal disallowed due to an offside challenge that was far easier to agree with.  

“Then I saw it from up top, it was a collision, so I’m happy it got turned over, no goal.

“From my experience I would say it's 70-30 for the players. But I owe a 24-pack to the video coaches there for two goals.”

Huska praised Pringle as the best in the league at his craft.

“He was feeling it tonight, you can tell,” said Huska, whose club was down 1-0 in the first minute, only to see Rasmus Andersson kickstart the team’s comeback in the second with a slick move around McDavid he finished brilliantly.   

“That was a huge part of tonight’s game.”

So was Kirkland.

“You’re 28-years old now and a lot of people would just say, ‘Okay I’m content with where I’m at,” said Huska of the journeyman centre.

“But everything he does is about being an NHL player.

“I’m really proud of him. He was physical tonight, he did a good job against their top line a number of times and he scored a huge goal for us, so I’m really happy for him.”