Calgary Flames | Between Huberdeau and Mantha, a happy “marriage”

Our first: an exceptional passer who excels in “puck control”. Our second: an energy forward who stands out more with his shots than his passes. Our takeaway: a “marriage” on the Calgary Flames’ third line that suits all parties, at least for now.

An additional clue to this charade? The two aforementioned players are from Quebec.

We are talking here about Jonathan Huberdeau and Anthony Mantha, paired with Belarusian Yegor Sharangovich on the third unit of the club led by Ryan Huska since the start of the season. Between them, Huberdeau (5 goals, 3 assists) and Mantha (4 goals, 3 assists) obtained a total of 15 points in 12 games this season, before facing the Canadian this Tuesday evening at the Bell Centre.

“We complement each other well,” Huberdeau admitted Tuesday morning in the visitors’ locker room. He’s a guy who plays physical, who goes to the corners, who wins his battles. He has a vision…”

Huberdeau smiles. “I thought he was shooting more, but it looks like he’s passing too!” »

When Mantha began to answer journalists’ questions, he did not hear his compatriot’s words. But his complement each other perfectly.

“Jo, of course he likes to control the puck, he’s an excellent passer,” underlines the former Red Wings, Capitals and Golden Knights. If you are able to create space for him, he will take [le disque] and make good choices. It’s an instinct he has. With Sharangovich right now, it brings a lot of speed, so it frees up even more space for him. »

Their coach Ryan Huska is satisfied with what he sees, moreover.

“Jo, we know how much he likes to maneuver with the puck,” he corroborated. As for Mantha, Huska praises his “size” and his “ability to take shots.”

“We thought there could be a good marriage between the two, given the way they both like to play. So far, they’ve had some good streaks for us. »

It is partly thanks to Huberdeau and Mantha if the Flames had the best start to a campaign in their history, with five victories in six matches. Only Rasmus Andersson (11 points) surpasses them in team scoring.

The burning hearth was then reduced to meager embers, with five defeats in six. The most recent setbacks have put the Flames back in the middle of the pack, roughly where analysts saw them before the NHL kicked off this season.

“At the start of the season, we played well, as a team, everyone was on the same page,” said Huberdeau. Afterwards, we deviated a little from that, we played with a little less intensity. Maybe we thought it was going to be easier since we had a good start like that. »

He agrees that Calgary’s power play “isn’t working” at 16.2% after 12 games. It is not for nothing that the Flames practiced this aspect of the game on Tuesday morning on the ice at the Bell Centre. Huberdeau was employed there on the first wave.

“Our power play was never incredible, but we had some important goals at the start of the year,” he said. […] These days, we are not able to score. I think [qu’il faut] go back to basics and keep it simpler. »

Far from its former peaks

Expectations are high for Jonathan Huberdeau in Calgary. This is what happens when you command a salary of 10.5 million per year for another seven years. And for now, neither he nor his club’s fans are fully satisfied with his performance, with 55 and 52 points in the last two seasons, respectively.

We are far from the 115 points scored alongside Aleksander Barkov with the Panthers in 2021-2022, let’s say it. But Huberdeau had to face the facts: with the Flames, a club in reconstruction whose style of play is much more defensive than the Panthers, no player will reach the offensive heights that we can see at d other teams. The Flames’ leading scorer, Nazem Kadri, scored 75 points last year. It was 73 for Tyler Toffoli in 2022-23.

“It’s certain that if I didn’t accept that, it wouldn’t be easy to play,” he admits, laughing. You have to accept this. It’s certain that you have less luck [de marquer]but that’s the style of team we have. That’s the only way to win, to play well defensively, to work hard every game, to play simpler. »

The Jeromien was even given the task this season of playing shorthanded. What he doesn’t mind: “I like it. When you’re on the PK, it keeps you in the match too. You play in all facets. »

For Ryan Huska, this evolution in the Quebecer’s game makes him “a better player overall.”

“You can see that winning is what matters most to him,” remarks the coach. If it means I have to spend time shorthanded, I’m going to do it. That’s what stands out about him. Call it leadership, or just a way for him to make sure the team is successful, instead of amassing points for himself. I have a lot of appreciation for the way he goes about his business. »