'FIND THAT CHEMISTRY'

Ask anyone in the Flames orbit and they'll tell you the same thing: Milan Lucic appears to have another step this year.
Not that his top-end speed has ever been a problem but it's even clearer, now, when that 6-foot-3, 240-lb. frame snaps into high gear what kind of force we're dealing with.
Whether an increase in lower-body thrust, will, or a combination of the two, Lucic - in the eyes of his teammates - looks as good as he has in a long time.
"I love playing with Looch," Tyler Toffoli said of potentially reuniting with the Big Man tonight, with Elias Lindholm at centre. "I had the best year of my career playing with him as my left-winger (in Los Angeles). Hopefully we can build off that. We had a couple shifts last game and had some good opportunities as well.
"He's playing great and I'm excited."

The feeling, certainly, is mutual.
The former Kings put up more than 50 points each as linemates during the 2015-16 season in Tinsel Town. Toffoli's 31 goals that year stand as a career high, while Lucic tied a pro best with 35 helpers.
"I think all of us are trying to get ourselves going in the right direction and having previous chemistry with (Toffoli) gives us a bit of confidence if we do play together," said Lucic, who has three assists in seven games this year. "It was one of his best years and also one of my best years as well, playing a lot together. Hopefully we can find that chemistry right (from) the get-go.
"Chemistry, predictability, getting open for each other and playing that type of game. That what's creates good linemates and like I said, we've got to do what we do best and find each other when we're open for each other."

With the Flames coming off a 3-2 loss to the Oilers on Saturday, Head Coach Darryl Sutter shook up the forward lines at Monday's practice, citing some notable trends in how the team has been producing offence so far.
The Flames have been generating chances at a greater clip than they were at this time last year (9.1 high-danger chances per game vs. 6.9 through seven games in 2021). The difference this season, despite the team record being nearly identical, has been the finish. The Flames had 24 5-on-5 goals at this time last year vs. 14 this fall.
Based on the combinations at Monday's workout, the Lucic-Lindholm-Toffoli unit could make up one of the top two lines, while Nazem Kadri could centre the other with Jonathan Huberdeau and Andrew Mangiapane on his wings.
So, is it a seismic shift? Not exactly. But with a change at the top two pivots and Lucic getting a shot in the top six, tonight's clash with the Kraken promises to be full of intrigue.
"(Lindholm)'s game is about detail," Sutter said. "It goes without saying, he's a very good two-way player - as good of a player as there is in that position, so he's got to stick to those details. He's got to be strong on pucks, he's got to demand the puck, he's got to transport the puck. And then he's got to be good at the little things - the faceoffs, the puck battles, the shooting percentages, things like that. That's what he takes pride in.
"There's no bad (games) with Lindy. He wants to produce more, right? That's what he wants and he'll do that. That's got nothing to do with try or consistency or effort. That's just him getting hot.
"Quite honest, our three centremen are pretty solid players. Mikael (Backlund) has been arguably our best, but Naz and Lindy, those are pretty solid guys that you can trust in a lot of situations."

So, it begs the question: Does that make life easier on the wingers?
Possibly.
But if they don't live up their end of the deal, it doesn't matter much.
"It makes those wingers have to play better," Sutter explained. "It hasn't been a strong suit for any of our wingers yet."
Enter Lucic (and Huberdeau, Mangiapane and Toffoli). All eyes will be on them tonight as the Flames look to find their rhythm offensively.
"Just playing with energy," Lucic said of the 'key.' "Go out there, (have) fun, (play) with confidence and all that type of stuff. I think the main thing is sometimes the mindset has to be that less is more. Sometimes you're thinking, 'Oh, I've got to do this, I've got to do that.'
"Sometimes you can psyche yourself out and over-think things, so when you simplify your game and go out there and have fun and play with energy, you're bringing that youthfulness in your game.
"This year, we've had harder practices than we've had in years past. I think that's designed that way so if guys are put in different positions, they're in shape and able to play more minutes and just as hard if they're called upon."