"For sure," said a beaming Jonathan Huberdeau, who was back as a full participant after missing the past three games due to injury. "When you win, it's obviously lighter off the ice, and even on the ice.
"I felt great this morning. We had a good practice today and (are) ready for tomorrow to get on a little streak."
'We' being the operative word.
As the Flames get set to close out a mini two-game homestand on Monday against the LA Kings, Huberdeau looks to be a part of it.
No. 10 was on a line with Mikael Backlund and Trevor Lewis at Sunday's practice, looking no worse for wear after dealing with a pair of injuries over the past week.
"They're good," Huberdeau said of the mix. "They're veteran guys, smart players. They read the game really well and Lewy can score some nice goals, too. Last night was great and I'm excited to have a chance to play with them.
"For us, we want to keep things simple. Get shots on net, get traffic and try to score some goals."
While there's never a good time for the injury bug to rear its ugly head, Huberdeau's afflictions came at the most inopportune stretch in the schedule.
He was coming off his best game as a Flame last Monday against the New York Islanders and had clearly taken a step after - admittedly - getting off a slow start with his new team. Afterward, he spoke of the confidence a night like that can give to a player, and how he was looking to use that to springboard into Tuesday's clash with the New Jersey Devils.
However, it was announced during warmup that he was unable to play, before Darryl Sutter added some additional context postgame - that the star winger couldn't squeeze his foot into his skate at the morning skate, and was thus 'deemed unavailable.'
"I blocked a shot," said Huberdeau, who said he'll be wearing shot-blockers on his skates from now on. "Just swelled up. It was hard, but now everything's fine.
"It wasn't easy. Obviously, I (wanted) to help the team and I thought my last game was a little better, it was going in the right direction. Obviously, not being out there with the guys, I think they work hard every day and it's always tough when you want to be there for them.
"Now, I'm ready to go for tomorrow."
With Adam Ruzicka coming off a tidy, two-point effort, he'll stay on a line with Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli, if the practice combinations are any indication. Nazem Kadri centred the second line with Milan Lucic and Andrew Mangiapane on his wings, while Dillon Dube, Blake Coleman and Brett Ritchie made up the fourth trio.
The Huberdeau-Backlund-Lewis bunch was third in the rotation, but as the coach often reminds, it's foolish to read too much into the order.
What does matter is the intriguing makeup of that line, and how Huberdeau can help add some additional offensive punch to a unit that already plays a steady, 200-foot game.
If Huberdeau can pick up where left off, it should be fun to see what these three can do.
"I think when I move my feet, that's when I'm at my best," Huberdeau said. "I'm not the fastest, but I like passing the puck and I think it opens up for me and (my linemates)."
