Calgary Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau scored the opening goal in the Flames' 3-0 victory over the Florida Panthers on Sunday, later revealing it was for his grandfather, who died Saturday.

Gaudreau celebrated his score with some visible emotion.

"It was kind of a tough day, but it was nice to find the net there for him in the first," Gaudreau said to reporters postgame. "It sucks losing people, but I was pretty pumped up to get that one for him.

"He watched a lot of my games, he was always a big supporter of me and my brother playing hockey," Gaudreau continued. "Like I said, it was just a special time to find the net there. Just emotional ... it was really cool."

Flames captain Mark Giordano added that he was happy to see Gaudreau have a good moment after the death of his grandfather.

"We have a really tight-knit group in there, and you could see how crushed he was yesterday on the bus," Giordano said, according to Sportsnet's Eric Francis. "I like to look at him as a little brother, to be honest. We've been around each other for so long. ... I thought for him to come in and score, that's really cool, and something I'm sure he'll share with his family tonight."

The 26-year-old Gaudreau was all over the ice Sunday afternoon, recording one goal, one assist, and adding five shots on goal. He was also rewarded a penalty shot in the contest, which he failed to convert.

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