HISTORIC NIGHT

It was kinda like Captain Kirk saluting Captain Picard as he takes command of the bridge on the USS Enterprise.
"He's passing me, is he?" said Lanny McDonald, only a few hours before inevitability became actuality. "Love it. Absolutely love it."
One hallmark Flames' skipper deferring to another.
Entering Thursday's home tilt against the Minnesota Wild, Mark Giordano required a single point to reach 405 and tie the moustachioed one for 11th place on the franchise career ladder.
Took all of 20 minutes and 50 seconds of official stop time but a second helper on Elias Lindholm's 14th goal of the season netted Giordano that Lanny-equalling point.
Then in the third, he moved ahead on yet another assist on yet another Lindholm tally.

"He's a guy I look up to,'' said Giordano after the 2-0 victory over the Wild. "One of the ultimate captains in the NHL. I don't take anything like this for granted.
"He'll always be remembered here. I want to follow in the footsteps of a guy like that.
"I've had the pleasure of meeting a lot of good people in my career. Lanny's one of the greats, and not just in Calgary. We had him in here a few years ago, before playoffs, he gave a speech and you could just feel the leadership.
"He's not playing anymore but he's still a leader in the community. Any time you're mentioned with a guy like that you take a step back."
Now, it's one thing to pass a good player. Even a stellar one.
Quite another level of lustre altogether, as Giordano said, to overtake an icon. A legend.
"Oh, god,'' Giordano had joked self-deprecatingly before the game. "What does that tell me? One thing: That I've played a lot more games in this jersey than he has.
"Hey, listen, there's a lot of great history in this organization. And Lanny's a big part of that.
"I remember being in my grandparents house the night they played the Canadiens for the Stanley Cup, the clinching game, and him scoring that goal.
"Funny, how that moment sticks with you. I remember them lifting the Cup and how happy everyone was for him.
"I would've been six or seven at the time, I guess. But it still brings back memories, so it's cool see him, and a lot of the other guys who played on that team, around here."

McDonald's now overtaken, there are other high-falutin' names in jeopardy of slipping behind Giordano.
He's currently only six helpers away from tying Paul Reinhart (298) for sixth all-time and seven suit-ups shy of equalling Theo Fleury's fourth-ranked games-as-a-Flame aggregate of 791.
"It's so important to have a guy like him on any team," praised McDonald. "Someone who leads by example. So okay, when it's time to go to the Children's Hospital, it's 'C'mon guys' and he's the one you want to follow.
"Same thing, when it's time to go get a couple third-period goals because you're trailing, it's 'C'mon guys' and he's the one you want to follow.
"To be a leader, in my opinion, you have to have ability, which he obviously does. You have to be able to back up your standards on the ice, which he obviously does, and not be afraid to sometimes lead by what you have to say.
"Mark, from what I understand, speaks when he has to. Which is fine because his play speaks for him more than anything."
When asked if he sees of lot of the old No. 9 in the not-so-old No. 5, the 500-goal/1,000-point Hall-of-Famer parries stylishly.
"I see a lot of Mark in Mark. That's probably the best way to put it.
"He's forging his own path.
"I'm a fan of us. He plays hard. He plays fair.
"You look at the difference when they took T.J. Brodie away from Gio last year and this year, when they're back together. He makes people around him better.
"He's not a Paul Coffey, skating so effortlessly it drives you crazy. He's not an Al MacInnis, with the booming shot.
"But there are no holes.
"He's just got it all. Every facet of his game is better than most people's … it's just all good."
Commitment to community is another all-good trait the two men share.
If there'd been such a thing as the prestigious ESPN Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award for charitable endeavours - which Giordano deservedly collected in 2017- back in his day, McDonald would've been a slam-dunk recipient.
"You look at how he plays on the ice and what he does off the ice and I truly believe the two go hand-in-hand.
"When you're making a difference in the community, I think it makes it easier to play the game. I know that sounds kind of crazy. But when you help make a difference in other people's lives, the way he does, it makes you feel good.
"And when you feel good, you play good."
So, as of now, there are new targets for Mark Giordano in his assault up the ledgers of the franchise record book.
But this wasn't just anybody he leapfrogged Thursday, understand.
We're talking Lanny McDonald, folks.
"Couldn't be happier for him,'' reiterates the legend. "Good for him. And good for me.
"Means I'm in pretty good company."