'CELEBRATE IT'

It's been a long, long time since the Flames last had a sniper this good.
It you guessed it was the GOAT - Iggy himself - who last potted 40 … Spoiler alert: You'd be right.
That's the kind of player we're talking about.
The elite.

The achievement so rare - so remarkably impressive - that you can't help but stand in amazement.
"Getting to play with guys like Brett Hull and Jarome and to see how they did it, and now to have a guy here with us - not named Jarome - get 40? It's pretty impressive," said Assistant GM Craig Conroy, who played parts of nine seasons with Iginla. "The team, in general, the points they're putting up this year and the way they're doing it is very special.
"And records are made to be broken.
"So, you're looking at what Ovechkin's doing and how exciting that is to see him score 50. I don't even know him, really, but other than playing against him, but you're happy for him. Now, we're looking here at our guys and how well they're doing this year, it's stuff we haven't seen in Calgary in years.
"The thing is, you don't know when you're going to see it - or IF you'll ever see it again - so you really have to embrace it.
"Celebrate it.
"Because it does mean something.
"I know in the grand scheme of things, we're here to win and that's our focus heading into the playoffs, but from management up above, to see Matthew from when we drafted him to now, scoring 40 goals in this league, it's special.
"It really is."

Eleven years have passed. Eighteen, if you think back to that magical spring of '04, when Jarome had 41 and led the Flames to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. For some, that's a lifetime between gunners of this calibre.
And now, the club has one.
And another, (Elias Lindholm at 39) and another (Johnny Gaudreau with 38), on pace.
Three in the 40-goal club is a record so incredibly rare. It traces back even further in team lore, to when Gary Roberts (41), Theo Fleury and Robert Reichel (40) were torching the circuit back in the early days of the World Wide Web.
They're special, these Flames - and the records keep falling as we closer to the playoffs.
"When you think about it, I guess you never really think anyone is going to get there when they're starting out in the league," said Gaudreau, Tkachuk's linemate and Calgary's revered, week-old Century Club founder. "But he's grown as player. So much. Every year he's been in the league, he's taken steps forward.
"He's always been a smart, skilled player. We saw that in (London of the OHL and the U.S. National Development Program), but it's been such a seamless transition to the NHL. That's the part that stands out to me. It's been such a great year so far and it's cool to be part of."

Gaudreau, you may recall, has a PHD in extraordinary stat-lines. His 109-point season has him within four points of the Art Ross Trophy as the league's top scorer with four games remaining. So, when a searing, offensive display catches his attention, you know it's coming from a good place.
Along with Gaudreau and Lindholm , Even Andrew Mangiapane, who has four goals in his last four games, has outside shot of tickling the twine another five times in the remaining four outings to hit 40.
Tkachuk, though, won the 'race.' The 24-year-old is the consummate pro and plays everything cool, but even he broke character for a moment after scoring the milestone marker in Thursday's victory. He looked up at the scoreboard, a standing ovation unfolding in front him, and buried his head on the bench.
That smile was the size of the Scotiabank Saddledome itself.
It was, perhaps, a moment of self-reflection.
For how far this team has come - and the personal milestones that have been discovered along the way - is certainly a moment deserving of the cheers.
"It was cool to sit back and see how excited the fans were, cheering him on," Gaudreau said. "Super fired up.
"It's great. Sometimes, that 99 sits with you for a while, but he happened to get it right there in the second. And to do it getting your 40th? Pretty cool.
"He played well for us.
"Like he has all year."

From Gaudreau eclipsing the century mark for the first time in his career, to recording the most even-strength points (85) - league wide - since the 1995-96 season, there isn't a single chapter of the franchise record book these talented pucksters haven't re-written this year.
No. 13 has earned much of the attention this year for the flash that he plays with.
And, naturally, anytime you're in the conversation for the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP, the attention typically seeks you.
But Tkachuk's efforts this year have, in a sense, flown under the radar.
"To see what Matthew is doing and what is going on around the league, it's great for the game. People are excited. Period," Conroy said.
"I was there when McGuire and Sosa were hitting all the homeruns in St. Louis. THAT was exciting. And THIS is what it's like in hockey right now."
Because, Conroy says, of players like Tkachuk and the buzz they create.
That relentless, deep-in-the-trenches-type game is the perfect complement to his linemates. But he also has the hands. The motor. The improbable escapability, and the innate, hockey IQ that makes him a threat in all three zones.
He wins battles, repeatedly shreds puck carriers, and turns a humdrum defensive assignment into transitional offence.
But - and, perhaps importantly - he has that gaudy, goal-scoring quality.
In other words: The total package.
"He's got a great shot and he sees the ice really well," Gaudreau said. "But probably the biggest thing is that he's so good down low. He does everything the right way and when you do that, you get rewarded. It's been a lot of fun playing with him and Lindy and our line's been playing well together. I think all three of our games have evolved playing together."
Now, a city waits for what No. 19 has for an encore.
"There's definitely a swagger about him," Conroy said. "It's a little bit different than his dad's, but you can definitely see where he gets it from. … I got to play with Keith and saw Matthew a ton when he was younger. It's fun to look back and think about when he was a little guy, to now - and watch what he's doing at the top level.
"To see how excited his teammates were for him last night, those are the things in pro sports - big moments… You remember those things."
"And I'm going to remember this game forever now, too."