Monahan earns first star billing
Four goals.
Four assists.
Four consecutive wins for the Calgary Flames.
With that superb stat-line, it’s no wonder Flames centre Sean Monahan was feted Monday as the NHL’s first star of the week.
Monahan was oh-so-consistent last week, cruising to four straight multi-point efforts.
The 24-year-old centre opened the scoring in Monday’s 3-1 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs and assisted on Elias Lindholm’s would-be game-winner less than a minute later.
The next night in Buffalo, Monahan factored on both the gametying tally and Johnny Gaudreau’s overtime snipe in a 2-1 victory.
The Flames wrapped their week with back-to-back comebacks on home ice, and No. 23 was a big part of both.
He celebrated a deflection goal as part of Thursday’s wild third-period in a 6-5 win over the Colorado Avalanche, and netted the equalizer Saturday against the Chicago Blackhawks.
“Obviously it’s not ideal to be down in games like we’ve been,” Monahan said after the 5-3 win over Chicago. “But if you play the same way that we’ve been playing, you’re going to get rewarded.”
Monahan ranks second on Calgary with eight goals and 18 points in 15 skates.
Next up for the Flames (9-5-1) is Wednesday’s clash against the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center.
Vancouver Canucks rookie Elias Pettersson was named the NHL’s second star of the week, while Calgary-raised centre Brayden Point of the Tampa Bay Lightning rounded out the list.