BUFFALO – The race up the ice was epic.
The finish, sublime.
The moment, unforgettable.
The impact, immense.
Seven games into his NHL career, Jakob Pelletier finally scored his first goal Saturday, rewarding family and friends who drove 10 hours from Quebec to see it happen.
As his parents, brother and others shed tears, embraced and exchanged high-fives, the 21-year-old winger unleashed a roar while celebrating a snipe that not only turned his fortunes as a Flame, but may have helped save a season hurtling toward the brink.
It may turn out to be that momentous.
After losses in Manhattan and Detroit earlier in the week, the Flames had opened the matinee in Buffalo down 2-0 after one period.
As the darkest of clouds appeared to be forming around an offensively challenged team that saw Jacob Markstrom allow two goals on three shots, Pelletier exploded into action.
Starting a 180-foot dash deep in his own zone, he outraced Victor Olofsson to create a 2-on-1, corralled a perfect pass from Nazem Kadri and calmly deposited it past Ukko-Pekka Luukonen.
It was a moment Flames fans, and the first-round draft pick, have waited patiently for.
“It was a 2-on-1, and I was like, ‘C’mon, Pelts, C’mon man, let’s go,’” beamed Pelletier of a burst of speed and goal he can talk about for years.
“So, I skated and then I had a breakaway and I shoot and score.
“I kind of blacked out.
“It’s great. I know the past three or four games, I think I’ve had some good chances. So, tonight it feels pretty good.”
What followed was a shocking barrage of goals that included a Mikael Backlund finish 20 seconds later, and a Dennis Gilbert blast less than 90 seconds after that.
It turned the game and road trip on a dime.
So dominating were the Flames, that the shot clock had them holding a remarkable 30-4 edge midway through a 7-2 win that was undoubtedly the team’s biggest of the season.
Flames coach Darryl Sutter and the players wouldn’t say as much, but you could certainly see the relief in the room afterward, as the team was able to grab two crucial points in a tight playoff race that now has them clinging to the final wild-card spot.
The smiles on their faces had plenty to do with how they did it, and who their scoring heroes were.
Gilbert, the man with the eventual game-winner, is a recent call-up from the Buffalo area who was playing in front of over 100 family members and friends for his first pro game at KeyBank Center, where he’d played the city high school championships years earlier.
“I just tried to hit it hard,” he said of the drop pass he hammered home early in the second period.
“I’ll tell my kids one day it went bar down. They don’t ask how.
“I was almost laughing it went in – it wasn’t a very good shot.
“It’s not exactly my calling card.”
The timing couldn’t have been better for his second NHL goal.
“Guys feed off it,” said Sutter of the milestone moments that lifted his team.
“(Pelletier) is such a likeable kid.
“He starts below our goal line and ends up at their goal line.
“I’ve said it all along about that kid, he’s got the energy and he’s got the spirit for the game.
“He’s just a young kid, so it’s going to take time.
“I don’t think it’s about confidence.
“He sees the game good. As long as he gets more mature and stronger, his game will go along with it.
“He will be a good player.”
As one of the AHL’s leading scorers before being summoned last month, Pelletier said earlier in the week he felt it was time to finally start chipping in offensively.
By game’s end, he had four shots in 15 minutes of ice time and was impactful at both ends of the ice, making several defensive plays as well.
Good thing, as his audition may have been nearing an end had he not started being a productive member of a line with Jonathan Huberdeau and Kadri.
“Obviously, Pelt’s got us going with the excitement of his first goal and kind of shifted the momentum a little bit,” said Flames forward Tyler Toffoli, who scored twice to reach the 20-goal plateau again as part of a three-point night that saw linemate Dillon Dube nab four points.
“We were all joking that it was about time.
“It finally happened.
“I said to him after the game, ‘Congratulations. Don’t stop at one.’”