January was very kind to the Calgary Flames.
They went on somewhat of a heater, winning seven times in 10 tries and finishing 5th in the league with a .750 points percentage.
Let’s take a closer look at the three players I believe were most responsible for the team’s success.
3rd star - Matthew Tkachuk Tkachuk didn’t have his best month in terms of raw production. He scored just once and recorded five points in 10 games, tying him for 4th on the Flames. It’s the other things he did that warranted a star slot.
Tkachuk was +14 in terms of scoring chances at 5v5, good for 1st (tied) among Flames forwards. He also had a positive goal differential and helped tilt the ice in Calgary’s favor.
Being the super-pest that he is, Tkachuk drew a *ton* of penalties – eight to be exact – while taking only one minor himself. The Flames have had a tough time scoring at 5v5 this season so the extra power play opportunities are even more important than they otherwise would be.
It would have been nice to see his name on the scoresheet a couple more times but, beyond that, it was a pretty strong month for Tkachuk.
2nd star - Cam Talbot Talbot started five games for the Flames in January. He won four of them and helped Calgary pick up a point in the lone defeat, which came against last season’s Stanley Cup winners.
Talbot was fully deserving of the sparking 4-0-1 record. He posted an impressive .929 overall save percentage, and was fantastic against high danger shots (.861 SV%).
He continues to prove himself as one of the NHL’s best 1A’s this season.
1st star - Johnny Gaudreau You’re never going to get top tier defense or any physicality out of Gaudreau; that’s not what anyone expects. Simply put, No. 13 is paid to produce offense and nobody on the roster did a better job in January.
Gaudreau led the Flames in assists (6), points (9) and shots on goal (36) despite ranking 8th in total ice time.
I still don’t think he’s at the dynamic level we saw for much of last season but he’s slowly getting there.
Standings Points (appearances) 3 for 1st, 2 for 2nd, 1 for 3rd
Matthew Tkachuk -- 6 (3) Andrew Mangiapane -- 3 (2) Johnny Gaudreau -- 3 (1) David Rittich -- 3 (1) Cam Talbot -- 2 (1) Sean Monahan -- 1 (1)
numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com Recent posts: