For the past 260 games, since he arrived as a free agent, Nazem Kadri has been one of the most reliable players for the Calgary Flames.

As they returned home from a four game road trip that saw the Flames post a disappointing 1-2-1 record, the club commemorated Kadri’s 1,000th NHL game. Featuring multiple gifts, several video packages and a lot of tributes to how impactful Kadri has been throughout his career, it was a fitting celebration of a superlative career for Kadri.

At 7:47 of the second period, as has become his custom, Kadri returned the favour for his team by giving the Flames some breathing room on the scoreboard. With the Flames holding a one goal lead, Kadri added his fourth goal of the season – his 92nd as a Flame and the 311th of his career – to give the Flames a 3-1 advantage.

With the Flames holding a 2-1 lead Columbus was pressing in the offensive zone, with both blueliners Dante Fabbro and Zach Werenski pinching from the point in an effort to create a scoring chance. That left forward Miles Wood covering the point. Rasmus Andersson nudged an errant pass into the neutral zone, where Flames forward Joel Farabee chased it down, and soon he and Kadri were facing Wood on an odd-man rush.

Given the circumstances and who he was playing with, Farabee had a pass on his mind.

“I was saying on the bench I should have kept my 91 jersey on from warm-ups and just looked them off,” joked Farabee. “It was one of those plays, there was a forward playing D, so I knew I had a really good chance that I saw Naz, so it was pretty simple where it was going.”

“You know, I wasn’t, to be honest with you,” said Huska, asked if he was sure Farabee was passing on the play. “I think it’s just Joel. Joel’s a very smart player, so if Joel would have thought the shot was the best option, he would have taken that. But it was a beautiful play, nice pass, and there was a little bit of patience on Naz’s part to just wait a little bit of time until he had the room up top. It was a nice goal.”

“I had a feeling because they had a forward playing defence,” said Kadri. “And usually forwards don’t play defence that well. So, I kind of figured he was dishing. So, I was ready for it.” [Q: Is Joel getting an extra gift for that pass?] “No, absolutely not. No more gifts.”

The game was a whirlwind experience for Kadri. The day began with gifts exchanged from teammates to Kadri, and from Kadri to his teammates. Warm-up began with Kadri’s first-ever solo lap – he didn’t get one when he debuted with Toronto as an emergency call-up in 2010 – and the game ended with him taking questions from the media while surrounded by several family members, several of them small children, that took part in the festivities celebrating his accomplishment.

For his part, Kadri expressed his appreciation to the Flames organization, his teammates and the fans for the festivities.

“You know what, I try to just soak in every single minute and just, you know, it’s really full circle,” said Kadri. “The people that started with me are here now. You know, I’m not going to lie, I was a little anxious to drop the puck and just kind of start the game. But, you know, I just tried to take it with a grain of salt and enjoy the day as much as possible.”

Huska wasn’t surprised that Kadri had a big game on his big night.

“It’s always happening with Naz,” said Huska. “But whenever we need something, he’s typically one of the guys that does it for us.”

The Flames, and Kadri, return to action on Friday night when they host the Chicago Blackhawks.

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