"Jobu did make an appearance here tonight, so we were thinking about it a little bit," coach Glen Gulutzan joked following the 2-0 win Monday night.
"We actually bought him in the summer, so we've been holding that card for a while. That seemed to work. He got a nameplate, he had the gear, he had the little rum, he had the whole nine yards. We recreated the scene."
Gulutzan showed the team the accompanying video clips from the movie for some Jobu context (let's face it, some of the younger players might not have seen the flick) to try to lighten the load of a lengthy winless streak in Orange County.
Jobu, of course, cured voodoo-practising Pedro Cerrano's difficulty with a curve ball in the iconic baseball movie.
The replica doll seems to be able to halt skids, too.
Truth be told, Sean Monahan's second-period goal, Mikael Backlund's insurance marker in the third, and a 43-save shutout from Mike Smith may have helped a touch, too.
But so too did Jobu.
"Jobu magic," Backlund said. "It was a funny video and it brought us some luck."
The Flames followed up the win two nights later blanking the L.A. Kings 2-0. Calgary collected six of eight possible points this week, the only blemish being Friday's 6-0 loss to the Senators.
ONE-TIMERS
Not surprising to see Johnny Gaudreau pace the team with eight points (two goals, six assists), but how about TJ Brodie parked right behind him at six (two goals, four assists). Each equalled career-highs with matching four-point games last week. …Check the numbers on prospect Adam Ruzicka. The fourth-round pick in 2017 is third in Ontario Hockey League scoring with 15 points in 10 games. …How about the captain? With his tally in Vancouver on Saturday, Mark Giordano became just the fourth defenceman in Flames history to reach 100 goals, joining Al MacInnis, Gary Suter and Paul Reinhart. The goal, on Oct. 14, came exactly 11 years after scoring his first, against the Toronto Maple Leafs, on Oct. 14, 2006. Giordano also has 242 assists in 679 games, not bad for a kid who was never drafted into the league. …Speaking of firsts, congrats to Travis Hamonicon his first goal as a member of the Flames, also coming against the Canucks.
SNAP SHOT
Riding the 'first' trend, Jaromir Jagr also earned his first point, an assist, as a member of the Flames on Saturday. Another first came Friday against the Ottawa Senators, when Jagr suited up at the Scotiabank Saddledome and hit the ice for his first home game action. He did so to plenty of noise throughout the night from the 'Dome faithful. "Since I signed here, they were very nice to me, so I really appreciate it," said Jagr, who debuted Wednesday, fittingly, in Hollywood. "I'm going to do the best I can do to show them I can still can play hockey." The living legend was treated pre-game to a gift basket from the Traveling Jagrs, too. Surely, more treats will come from Jagr, who is second all-time in NHL scoring at 1,915. He's inching closer to the all-time NHL games played mark. The three skates with Calgary has the 45-year-old wonder 53 back of Gordie Howe and his 1,767 games. What a treat it'd be to see him reach it while wearing the Flaming C.
