1. Head East
As the Flames get set for a three-game swing beginning tonight in Montreal, the focus is on what could be, as opposed to what’s gone wrong in recent contests.
Calgary was unlucky not to come away with points in Sunday’s 4-2 loss to their provincial rivals from Edmonton, a game which the locals dominated for large portions of the final 40 minutes before being undone by a third-period powerplay goal against.
The work ethic is there, and has he has said all season long, Head Coach Ryan Huska continues to preach playing the right way in a bid to find success.
And he’s confident that success will come, even if in the present, it can be hard to see.
Take forward Andrei Kuzmenko, for instance.
He was self-critical Sunday, pointing postgame to the fact that he’s lit the lamp only once to begin the season.
But he was around the puck, and earned himself extra ice-time because he was making things happen in the heat of the battle.
And for Huska, that search for success all comes down to drive.
“All guys that are offensive players, if they’re not scoring, they feel the burden at times. And sometimes when you’re not scoring, or it’s not coming easy for you, you have a tendency to try to do a little bit too much, and that includes stick-handling, or making plays that aren’t there to be made,” he explained. “Sometimes, you’ve just got to remember, you’ve got to move your feet. The game can be a simple game at times, if you move your feet and you shoot the puck when you get opportunities too, things typically turn around if your habits and your details are the right way.”
Another example, making your natural advantages work in your favour. At 6-foot-5, Anthony Mantha is a pain in the neck for opposing defencemen and goaltenders alike when he places himself in high-danger areas on the ice.
He’s done that of late, and results have followed - the Quebec product returns home tonight having scored goals in two of the last three games.
The strength on the puck is one thing,” Huska said of Mantha’s attributes. “You saw it (Sunday), there were multiple times where he was standing right in front of the net.
“That’s how he scored his goal, and for a guy that’s his size, and has his ability with the puck, that’s what we need out of him.”
Work with what you’re given.
But above all, work, and good things will follow.
Soon, hard hats and work boots will be laid out for use here in Montreal, a place you could call hockey’s holy city.
A great day - a great place - to get the job done.
