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On Friday night, the Calgary Flames picked up a shootout win over the Minnesota Wild to move to 7-3-1 in their last 11 games.
A few notes:
1) It took months but Sean Monahan is finally starting to look like the guy the Flames paid huge money for. He is now on a three-game point streak and has been positive in possession in two of the last three. Numbers aside, he looks better and more confident in the offensive zone right now. Monahan made a few really nice passes last night that led to good chances for his team. He just needs to start shooting more and the points should really start coming.
2) Another game, another strong showing from Chad Johnson. He is 7-2-0 in his last nine starts, has allowed just 14 goals, and owns a .948 save percentage in that span. What's most impressive, perhaps, is that five of the 14 goals came in one game. If you take the dud out, he has allowed nine goals in eight starts. I know that's not how it works but it puts into perspective how dominant he has been during this stretch.
3) Dougie Hamilton continues to be a saint. He didn't get on the scoresheet vs Minnesota, but he was dominant in possession and registered five shots on goal.
On Friday I was doing some research to help back up my stance that Yohann Auvitu should get more minutes for the Devils. In the process, I realized Hamilton is putting up some really impressive numbers as well.
These numbers aren't updated to include last night's game, which would boost Hamilton in both categories. He is already top-5 in them, though, so this gets the point across. Trading Hamilton would be a huge mistake.
4) The 3M line (Matthew Tkachuk, Mikael Backlund, Michael Frolik) was absolutely fantastic once again. I would say they're the best line in the league, but they probably aren't as good as the Brad Marchand - Patrice Bergeron - David Pastrnak trio. Still, that the Flames have an elite line and it isn't one featuring Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau is really encouraging.
The top line has probably been the Flames' worst this season, relative to the minutes they play and what is expected, and will soon be getting a big boost with Gaudreau.
The Flames could very well be a playoff team after all.
Recent posts:
On Johnson's dominant run, Monahan showing signs of life and more
Flames fall to Islanders but survive lengthy road trip
Predicting the Pacific Division standings
Pacific Division bold predictions
Pacific Division breakout players
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