SCORCHING HOT IN DECEMBER
Never mind the polar vortex — these eight NHLers are just warming up
Blame the hockey gods. Blame the added pressures that come from signing a big-time contract. Or simply blame bad luck.
Whatever the reasons, Sean Monahan didn’t look like himself for the first two months of the season. The Calgary Flames centre had four goals and no assists in October, then only two goals and six points in November. It was an out-of-character start for a player who scored more than 60 points in each of the past two seasons.
Of course, that track record is exactly why some were not worried that a player who signed a seven-year, US$44.6-million contract would eventually turn things around and earn his keep.
“If you look at Sean, his point production isn’t normally where it would be at, but it’s not a first-year player (we’re talking about),” Flames general manager Brad Treliving told Postmedia News in November.
“It’s a player with a body of work. You know he’s a really good player and you know it’s going to come.”
Two months later, after surviving a brief demotion to the fourth line and going eight of nine games without a point, it’s finally coming around for Monahan. Call it an early Christmas present, but with four goals and 10 points in eight games in December, including an assist in Monday’s 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes, Monahan is back to his usual self. The 22-year-old is still on pace for his lowest output since his rookie season, but is back to leading the Flames with 10 goals, while registering 20 points total.
Given that he’s riding a careerbest 10-game point streak (with five goals and 12 points during that span), you never know what’s in store for 2017.
“It’s one of those things — he was doing a lot of good things, but the numbers weren’t there,” Flames defenceman Marc Giordano told reporters after a 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday, in which Monahan scored his 10th of the season. “Sometimes as players, your confidence goes down a bit when you start looking at what you can do different. His game was starting to come. It was a confidence thing for sure to get that first one and another one the next night, and he’s gone from there.”
Monahan isn’t the only player feeling more confident in December than he did the previous two months. From Montreal’s Max Pacioretty and Toronto’s Auston Matthews to Winnipeg’s Bryan Little and Buffalo’s Jack Eichel, who were both out with earlyseason injuries, some players needed time to get going.
Here are seven more players making up for lost time.
MAX PACIORETTY, MONTREAL
When Alex Galchenyuk and David Desharnais went down with injuries days apart, Montreal lost its two top centres. But one of the reasons the team didn’t lose any ground in the standings is because of Pacioretty. Though a broken foot limited the Canadiens captain to five goals in the first two months, he has led the team with seven goals and 10 points in December.
AUSTON MATTHEWS, TORONTO
With 15 goals and 24 points in 31 games, it’s easy to forget Matthews, who started the season with four goals in his NHL debut, went without a goal during a 13-game stretch at the end of October and beginning of November. But after scoring twice on Nov. 23, Matthews is back in the Calder Trophy conversation with nine goals and 11 points in his last 12 games, including the opening goal in Monday night’s 3-2 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
JACK EICHEL, BUFFALO
An ankle sprain limited Eichel to just one game in the first two months of the season. But since returning to the lineup Nov. 29, the sophomore forward has put up five goals and eight points in nine games, leading the Sabres to a 5-2-2 record in the process.
JONATHAN DROUIN, TAMPA BAY
Optimistic coaches always refer to player injuries as opportunities for others to shine. That has certainly been the case in Tampa Bay, where Steven Stamkos’s absence forced Drouin to step up and lead the offence. Though he had three goals and seven points in the first two months, Drouin has four goals and eight points in seven games in December.
BRYAN LITTLE, WINNIPEG
An injury in the first game of the season kept Little out of the lineup until Nov. 29, although with all the goals Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele have scored, you’re forgiven if his absence went unnoticed. Now that he’s back and has four goals and nine points in 10 games, the Jets’ offence looks even more potent. If only he could help the goaltenders make a save.
JUSTIN SCHULTZ, PITTSBURGH
If Oilers fans regretted the decision to trade Schultz after he won a Stanley Cup with the Penguins, they are not going to like what they’ve seen out of the offensive defenceman so far this month. Though Schultz had just one goal in October and November, he has broken out with four goals and 12 points in nine games in December.
LEON DRAISAITL, EDMONTON
You could say Christmas came really early for Draisaitl, who, after scoring just two goals and six points in October, responded with five goals and 11 points in November. But if his play during the last month was good, then this month’s production — seven goals and 13 points in 10 games, including two assists against the St. Louis Blues on Monday — has been career-defining.