Time Machine: One year ago, Matthew Tkachuk had his best game

Life was going well for the Calgary Flames on this day in 2019. The Flames were rolling with a 43-20-7 record, sitting just a point behind the San Jose Sharks for top spot in the Pacific Division. The Flames were hosting the New York Rangers hoping to leap-frog the Sharks.

They received an all-time performance from Matthew Tkachuk that allowed them to do just that.

A couple nights prior, the Flames played a weirdly competitive game against the lowly New Jersey Devils. Maybe it was that near-miss that put a scare into them, but the Flames were all over the Rangers from the get-go.

A smart puck flip out of the defensive zone by Tkachuk allowed Johnny Gaudreau to break into the offensive zone and open the scoring by beating Alexandar Georgiev on a breakaway. That made it 1-0 Calgary.

After the Rangers evened things up, the Flames managed to re-take the lead early in the second period. Tkachuk went to one of his prime spots – the front of the net – and tipped a shot past Georgiev to make it 2-1 Calgary. It held up as the game-winner.

Tkachuk got his second primary assist in the second period. Subbing in on the fourth line, he made a simple play – he hucked a puck towards the front of the net from the corner – and Garnet Hathaway redirected it past Georgiev to extend the lead to 3-1.

Early in the third period, Tkachuk got his third primary assist of the game. Noah Hanifin’s point shot was stopped, but Tkachuk grabbed the rebound and passed to Michael Frolik for a simple tap-in goal to extend the lead to 4-1 Calgary.

Finally, the scoring was completed with Tkachuk’s second of the game as he jumped all over a rebound to make it 5-1 Flames.

The game currently holds up as the single biggest offensive game Tkachuk has ever had as a pro. In addition to five points – all even strength, primary points – he was plus-5, had five shots and drew a penalty. The game was Tkachuk at the height of his powers – tenacious, clever offensively and smart defensively – and he was repeatedly thrown onto other lines by Bill Peters to keep the game’s momentum rolling along.

It was the type of game that suggests that Tkachuk has the potential to be a superstar in the NHL.