Flames' Huberdeau appears to be getting his swagger back
It has taken much longer than anyone had anticipated, but the old Jonathan Huberdeau appears to have arrived for the Calgary Flames.
After a rough 55-point outing a season ago, Flames fans were unable to do anything other than pray for a bounceback from the 30-year-old. Those prayers seemed to go unanswered, as Huberdeau managed just seven points through his first 15 games of the season. His play was so miserable at points that he was even benched for the entire third period of a game versus the Nashville Predators. However, as rough as things had gotten, it appears to all be in the past.
Huberdeau’s best game of the season came last Thursday in a win over the Vancouver Canucks, where he had a goal and an assist. There was some hope that it could get him back on the right track, and that appears to be the case. He has since been able to notch an assist versus the New York Islanders, as well as another multi-point outing last night in a win over the Seattle Kraken. The recent success has him riding a three-game point streak, during which time he has two goals and five points.
While Huberdeau still has a long way to go to get back to being the player he was, it looks as though he may beĀ getting back some of that swaggerĀ that he said he had lost last season while playing under Darryl Sutter.Ā For the first time since he put on a Flames sweater, he is having a noticeable impact nearly each and every time he hits the ice, and is looking much more like the 115-point player from two seasons ago.
To little surprise, Huberdeau’s strong play has resulted in team success, as the Flames have won three of their past four games to improve their record to 7-8-3. They will look to continue their winning ways tomorrow night in a road game versus the Nashville Predators, with puck drop set for 7 pm MT.
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