Flames feel sting of the cellar
CALGARY It’s no secret that the Calgary Flames depend on their top line for a huge portion of their offence.
Together, Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan and Jiri Hudler’s point total is 22, which equals the point total of the rest of the team combined.
And on top of their team struggles — after Monday’s 4-0 loss to the New York Islanders, the Flames are 2-7-0 — the trio has already seen added pressure from the entire league this season. They know that everyone knows what they’re about and how they play.
“Bob (Hartley) told me at the beginning of the season that our line is going to be circled against other teams,” Gaudreau was saying early Monday in New York.
“They’re going to be talking about our line … last year at the beginning of the year, we kind of went unnoticed.”
The small winger had surprised many in 2014-15 with his breakout rookie campaign.
Monahan was only into his second year and it took a while for the team’s coaching staff to add productive veteran Hudler to the mix.
“Me and Sean, we were two younger guys and everyone knew who Jiri was,” Gaudreau said. “But because of how we played last year, it’s obviously going to be tougher to play other teams.
“Last year, I didn’t notice it as much. But you can tell as the season started, other teams are matching different lines against us.”
The line’s start has been respectable despite the Flames sitting at the bottom of the barrel. Gaudreau’s 10 points in nine games leads the team while Hudler’s three goals and four assists are second. Monahan, who has struggled the most, has two goals and three assists.
But, in Gaudreau’s short hockey career, he admitted he’s never been on a team that has struggled this badly out of the gate.
“I’ve had a good start here, but it’s team success,” the 22-year-old said. “It’s not where we want to be. It’s not all about personal goals, it’s more about the team right now.
“We need to come together and get a little stronger … this is a new learning experience, starting out like this.”
In fact, the Flames are off to one of their worst starts in franchise history with four points in nine games and no regulation victories.
This comes only a year after one of their best starts in recent memory. The 2014-15 edition began with a 12-6-2 record after 20 games.
The team has referenced their kickoff last season as the reason they were able to survive a tough eight-game losing streak before Christmas.
What they really need now is a performance like the one on Dec. 22 — a come-from-behind 4-3 overtime victory over the Los Angeles Kings that completely turned things around and ended the long skid.
“Yeah, you could say that,” goalie Joni Ortio said.
“But is has to be a team effort. We all need to be better here. We know we can win games. We’ve proved it. We’re just struggling to put together a solid 60 minutes right now.”