CHICAGO - Some stories just write themselves.
Rookie Rory Kerins – recalled on Friday from the AHL Wranglers – got his first NHL start Monday and collected a pair of assists on the first two goals en route to a 5-2 victory over the Blackhawks.
Oh, and those two goals were scored by another youngster – Jakob Pelletier, himself recalled in December. The two players were linemates with the Wranglers and good friends off the ice.
Mikael Backlund, Jake Bean and Yegor Sharangovich also scored for the Flames, who kicked off this four-game road trip in style with their third victory in a row as they outshot Chicago 36-24.
They had already beaten Chicago twice this season.
It was Pelletier’s second and third goals on the season, while Kerins – who had his parents, sister, brother and girlfriend in the stands at the United Center to watch him – became the first Flame since Sergei Makarov in 1989 to get two helpers in his NHL debut.
He finished the night an impressive +3 with 14:57 of ice time, and nearly got his first goal late in the second period when he had a shot at the top of the blue paint with a Blackhawk on his back, but Chicago netminder Petr Mrazek made a pad save.
Pelletier also had an assist and finished +3, too, with four shots.
Dustin Wolf – making his fourth straight start – got the victory, making 22 saves.
Jonathan Huberdeau, meanwhile, continued to be red-hot, assisting on Sharangovich’s goal. He now has 21 points in his last 21 outings.