Rory Kerins knew it would take some time before he got acclimated to the NHL.
How does 12 seconds sound?
That’s how long into his first NHL shift it took for the Wranglers call-up to make a nifty dish and drive that finished with Jakob Pelletier ripping home the game-opening goal 74 seconds in.
Ten minutes later, the two lads, who were AHL linemates earlier in the year, hooked up again for Pelletier’s second of the night.
You could hear the two whooping it up as they silenced the Chicago crowd.
The smiles on their faces were as genuine as the souvenir pucks they left town with, destined to be framed.
After all, both have had plenty of moments in their careers when they wondered if a night like this would ever come.
Pelletier opened the season on waivers, unsure if his time in Calgary, or even the NHL, might be over.
A sixth-round draft pick in 2020, Kerins was so far down the Flames’ depth chart at training camp that the undersized 22-year-old was assigned to dreaded Group C, meaning the former ECHLer didn’t even get a single pre-season start.
Pelletier responded by lighting up the AHL, as did Kerins, who was summoned to replace injured Connor Zary Saturday, thanks to a start that has seen him lead the AHL with 21 goals.
On Monday, they made good on their reunion, with one recording his first multi-goal outing in the NHL and the other becoming just the fifth Flame to start his career with two helpers.
The last Flame to pick up a point on his first shift was Sam Bennett, and only one player in NHL history (Roland Eriksson) has picked up more than two assists in their first NHL period.
It set the tone for a 5-2 win that helped the Flames open a four-game roadie by leapfrogging Vancouver for the final playoff berth in the west.
These are the nights Flames management (and fans) cherish, although not as much as the kids.
With friends and family in attendance, Kerins followed up his rookie lap by finishing plus-3 with two assists and two shots on goal in almost 15 minutes, including time on the second power-play unit.
A natural centre who was used on Yegor Sharangovich’s wing Monday, Kerins also came close to scoring a goal atop the blue paint, where he also helped create traffic for a Jake Bean goal.
For an organization that has made good on its promise to give youngsters a chance, Kerins’ splashy entry point follows a nifty pattern that saw Connor Zary and Martin Pospisil both score in their first NHL games.
Kerins’ stay with the big boys may not be as impactful or lengthy as those two revelations, but there’s even more reason for optimism following his opener.
Under-23 Club dominates
The other two Flames youngsters chiefly responsible for the team’s 3-1 lead after one period were Dustin Wolf and Matt Coronato.
Wolf won his third-straight start by making 23 saves, highlighted by a spectacular, reach-back paddle stop on Taylor Hall executed while sprawling across the crease in the splits.
Coronato made a brilliant zone entry, deftly shielded the puck to make a play and then appeared to score his 11th of the year on a give-and-go with Blake Coleman. The league later determined Mikael Backlund touched the eventual game-winner on the way in, but either way, Coronato extended his point streak to three by making yet another impression at a big moment of a game.
Interestingly, Coronato, Kerins and Pelletier have all spent time in the AHL this season, where Wolf spent the bulk of his last three years.
Pospisil crosses the line
In a game the Flames led 4-1, Martin Pospisil delivered an ugly hit on Taylor Hall’s numbers, sending the veteran awkwardly into the boards a few feet away, hitting his face on the dasher as the Flames winger followed through.
Hall left the game briefly, but would return.
After a quick review, it was deemed a five-minute major and game misconduct for boarding, which the Blackhawks capitalized on soon thereafter when Connor Bedard picked up his 100th career point with a goal.
Fortunately for the Flames, whose penalty kill has struggled all season, the three-goal lead was restored by Yegor Sharangovich soon thereafter.
It was the first ejection this season for Pospisil, who was tossed three times for reckless hits last year.
Yegor ends skid
Sharangovich had gone 15 games in a row without a point before he managed to convert a shorthanded deke on Petr Mrazek late in the second period.
He’d only had three assists and 16 shots during the drought, making his two-point night a monumental breakthrough for the former 31-goal scorer who signed a five-year, $28.75 million extension last summer.
It says plenty about his struggles that even though linemates Pelletier and Kerins combined for two goals earlier in the game, he didn’t pick up a point on either.
His assist came after he missed the net with a shot, only to have Bean smack in the rebound off the end boards.
The Flames play in St. Louis Tuesday.
