CALGARY | It is said that love and hate are often the two feelings of a passionate relationship. Tuesday night, back at the Saddledome for the first time since the trade that made him go to the Panthers in July, Matthew Tkachuk understood it perfectly.
• Read also: Toffoli on Caufield and Suzuki: “Their success does not surprise me”
Booed every time he touched the puck, the former Flames forward received hearty applause when the team that drafted him in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2016 Draft presented a tribute video during of the first commercial break.
Tkachuk, who played 432 games in a Flames uniform, had a scoring opportunity in the first half of the opening third. He later visited the penalty box after serving a cross-check behind Nikita Zadorov.
Awakening
For the rest, the number 19 of the Panthers had a rather quiet evening. It was Jonathan Huberdeau, involved in the same transaction, who held the upper hand.
Author of a goal and an assist, on the goal of Tyler Toffoli, the Quebecer was credited with the first star of the game.
Huberdeau, whose first 10 seasons were played under the Florida sun, no doubt hopes that this evening will give impetus to his season. Before the Panthers visit, he had 10 points in his first 18 games. And only one game over one point.
One wonders if the enthusiasm generated by the return of Tkachuk to Calgary, and his own return to Florida, last week, did not weigh on his shoulders a little.
“I knew it would be emotional when I returned to Florida. When I was traded here this summer, it was definitely on my heart. But there, to play with the guys, and to win twice against the Panthers, that’s the fun. »
Optimistic
While waiting for the opening of the locker rooms, at the end of the meeting, colleagues assigned to the daily coverage of the Flames affirmed that Huberdeau had just experienced his best game since his arrival.
An analysis with which the main interested party did not seem entirely in agreement.
“Looks like I had no legs, but it clicked. I scored a lucky goal. There are passes that I usually do that I didn’t do tonight. At least I create a few things offensively. It will eventually unlock. »
A few weeks after acquiring him, the Flames offered Huberdeau an eight-year contract extension worth an average of $10.5 million per season.