FLAMES REWIND - 19.03.18

As millennial milestone night beckons for Matt Stajan, let Rewind rewind to April 5, 2003
To Game One.
The Air Canada Centre in Toronto. The Ottawa Senators, the visitors.

Regular-season finale, so the Maple Leafs thought they'd give their 19-year-old second-round pick of the previous summer a major-league look-see.
"It all happened so fast,'' Stajan recalled a year ago, prior to his 900th NHL game. "Which was good because this was the team I'd watched growing up as a kid.
"I'm scrambling to catch a flight, St. John's to Toronto. I actually didn't land until 4:45 for a 7 o'clock game. My sister picked me up at the airport and drove me straight to the ACC.
"I got right to the room and sat down next to Ed Belfour. He wasn't playing. They'd already clinched a playoff spot so a lot of guys weren't playing. Which is probably why I got the chance.
"A crazy day.
"A blur.
"I didn't have time to get nervous or scared or really process what was going on."
And, as fate would have it, second shift of his NHL debut, neutral zone faceoff. Stajan loses the draw, clean. But Ottawa Senators' Chris Phillips, trying to go D to D, whiffs on his pass and with only Ottawa goaltender Martin Prusek to beat …
"I went right through the middle on a breakaway, untouched, and stuck it five-hole. My first NHL goal.
"That was Game 1."

Wednesday, with the L.A. Kings in town, Stajan is expected to play in hallmark No. 1,000.
In a game growing ever-more youthful, through trends and changes in format and rules, he has stood the toughest test of all - that of time.
"You find your niche, adapt to your situation,'' he explained of his longevity. "You need to bring what the team needs, what the team is asking of you.
"Sometimes it's not what you want, it's not fun, but you adjust."
"Be yourself. Approach it the same way every single day.
"Be professional."
That has been a non-negotiable mantra since April 5, 2003, and the career curtain-raiser against the Senators.
"I think back to that game, to those times … it's been a while,'' Stajan admitted. "But as you get older, your perspective improves. And I've enjoyed every minute.
"The good times and the bad."

ONE-TIMERS

After missing 48 games owing to hip surgery in early December, winger Kris Versteeg returned to the Calgary lineup last Friday against San Jose … Captain Mark Giordano, at 376, is 12 points behind Joe Mullen for 16th place on the franchise career scoring list … For their Monday date in Arizona, the team recalled D-man Rasmus Andersson, enjoying a fine season - 38 points, a +21 - with AHL Stockton. Andersson made his second-ever NHL start versus the Coyotes.

BACKHANDS

TUESDAY: Mike Smith repelled 28 shots for his third shutout as a Flame while left winger Johnny Gaudreau connected for goal No. 21 on the season as Calgary blanked the rival Edmonton Oilers 1-0 at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
FRIDAY: Trade deadline acquisition Evander Kane was on fire, scoring four goals for the visiting San Jose Sharks, who toppled the Flames 7-4 at Scotiabank Saddledome. Troy Brouwer, Mark Jankowski, Gaudreau and Micheal Ferland scored for the homeside.
SUNDAY: Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was stellar through a 20-shot first period as the Flames fell 4-0 to the homesteading Golden Knights in the front end of a back-to-back set.
MONDAY:Dougie Hamilton and Sean Monahan both scored in the second period to keep things tied with the Coyotes, but three third-period goals would sink the Flames. Hamilton's goal put him into first place among NHL defenders, one ahead of PK Subban, Aaron Ekblad, and Alex Pietrangelo.