IN RARIFIED AIR

COLUMBUS - It's not every day you hear yourself mentioned in a sentence with the legendary Gordie Howe.
Even for an NHLer, it's something special.
Matthew Tkachuk tallied five assists in Calgary's 7-1 win over the visiting St. Louis Blues Monday night and, in the process, made himself - and his dad - the answer to a neat trivia question.

Who are the only father/son duos to record five helpers in an NHL tilt? Gordie and Mark Howe - and now Tkachuk and his father Keith.
The Flames forward was just three years old when his dad accomplished the impressive feat back on Feb. 23, 2001, when he was playing with the Arizona Coyotes.
"Very cool," said Tkachuk following his team's morning skate Wednesday in Columbus, where they will take on the Blue Jackets at 5 p.m. Calgary time. "I did not know that.
"Obviously very cool. Tough to do, so it was pretty cool and definitely nice when your name is associated with them."
Those five assists were part of a five-game point streak the left-winger has going, a stretch in which he's scored four goals and 13 points. In total, he has 16 points in the month of January and sits second in team scoring with 42, behind linemate Johnny Gaudreau.
He's tied for tops in goals alongside Andrew Mangiapane with 18.
Following Monday's victory, head coach Darryl Sutter was asked about Tkachuk's play-making ability, perhaps a facet of his game that some folks don't give enough credit to.
"I've said this lots: Matthew's got great vision when he's got the puck and playing on his off wing this year gives him a whole different dynamic of what he can see and what he can do, and he's making the most of it," the coach replied.
Flipping to the other side of the ice can be tough, with some players flourishing while others struggle. Tkachuk is firmly in the first category to this point.
"I like it," said Tkachuk. "I tried it a bit last year so, just getting used to it. I got used to it a little bit over the summer. It's just seeing the game from a different side and you feel like you have the puck more, and can make more plays because you can go both backhand and forehand. So it's been good. I like it."
So is this his prefered place to play now? Does he enjoy it more?
"I'll play whatever wing," he said. "But I definitely like it so far. It's been really good."
There's already been plenty written about how lethal his line - with centre Elias Lindholm - has been this season, the chemistry between the trio evident as they pile up the points - 122 in 37 games.
They are 1-2-3 in team scoring and provide a unique challenge for the opposition given their well-rounded skillsets.
"All of us pass well, all of us shoot well," said Tkachuk. "Kind of that duel threat. Makes us tough to play against."
The Blue Jackets are just the latest team the Flames have to get reaquainted with after the long Covid roller-coaster. The last time the two clubs met was way back on March 2, 2020 when the Flames won 3-2 in overtime at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Columbus comes into tonight's game sitting at 18-20-1, but have been better in the comfy confines of the Nationwide Arena, with a mark of 11-8-1.
So what's the book on this new version of the Blue Jackets?
"Very young, very fast - great goalie," answered Tkachuk. "And one of the best Ds in the NHL. And they've been really good at home. Always a tough place to play so excited for the challenge tonight."
Monday's game was impressive from opening whistle to the final horn, with seven players scoring for Calgary. Special teams played a big part, as the Flames went 2-for-5 on the powerplay and blanked the Blues on their two opportunities.
That success - to no one's surprise - is something they'd like to replicate tonight.
"Winning the special teams battle is really important," said Tkachuk. "Our powerplay has been clicking the last little bit so we want to keep that going and our PK has been solid all year. It's all about momentum. If we can get momentum from a powerplay goal or get momentum from a great kill, it's big."