Johnny Gaudreau is no stranger to finding the back of the net, with 149 goals to his name prior to Sunday's action.
When the Calgary Flames forward notched No. 150 on Sunday against the Florida Panthers, Gaudreau let out a roar and an enthusiastic thrust of his fists — but it had nothing to do with hitting a milestone. The 26-year-old revealed after the game that his paternal grandfather died the day before, and Gaudreau dedicated the goal to his loved one.
"My grandfather passed away right ... before our game in Tampa [on Saturday] and I found out after the game, so it's kind of a tough day," Gaudreau said. "It's nice to find the net there for him in the first [period]. It sucks losing people, but I was pretty pumped up to get that one for him."
MORE: Bobby Ryan scores emotional hat trick in first home game since rejoining Senators
Gaudreau's goal came at the 6:21 mark of the first period, with the Salem, N.J., native ripping a wrist shot past Panthers netminder Sam Montembeault from the left faceoff circle. The power play goal was the game's opener and the first of three for Calgary as they claimed a 3-0 victory.
"It was huge," Flames coach Geoff Ward said of Gaudreau's goal. "You know, anytime you can get up — leads are so important in this league and anytime you can get up early, I think it's it's a good thing for your team."
As big as the goal was for the team, which is in the midst of a tight playoff race and fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, Ward noted that news of Gaudreau's grandfather's passing rallied the Calgary players on a human level.
"When something happens to anybody in there, the rest of the guys, they know and they care, and to see him go out and play the way that he played [Sunday], guys want to pick them up and guys want to make sure that they're doing everything that they can in order for our team and for him to have success," Ward said. "I just think basically from the standpoint of caring for each other's teammates, and being as tight as they are in there, they care."
For Gaudreau, who told reporters that he shared his first and last name with his grandfather, his play on Sunday was a tribute. He also assisted on T.J. Brodie's third-period marker to seal the victory, but it was his goal and the timing of it that meant "a lot."
"He watched a lot of my games and was always a big supporter of me and my brother playing hockey," Gaudreau said of his grandfather. "It was a special time to find the net there and it's just emotional, so this was really cool."