'THE BOYS LOVED IT'

You can point to the minutes, the points, or the responsibility he bears and easily see what the 'Noah Hanifin Effect' has had on this Flames team.
But sometimes the intangibles outweigh everything and galvanize a group like never before.
Like, when a guy steps out of his comfort zone and, say, drops the mitts for only the second time in his five years in Calgary.
"I kind of figured it was going to happen," Hanifin laughed of his pre-Christmas dust-up with Anaheim forward Max Comtois. "There was a hit in the corner and we were skating up the ice together and he asked. I'm obviously not much of a fighter, but it's good to do it every now and then.
"The reaction on the bench was pretty funny.
"The boys loved it."

Not to get overly philosophical and paint the moment as more than it was, but it felt… important.
Symbolic, even.
Lately, Hanifin has been playing some of the best hockey of his career, averaging more than 22-and-a-half minutes per game in a No. 1 slot, alongside the 26-year-old Rasmus Andersson, who's doing the same on a flourishing Flames blueline.
We can't talk about one without mentioning, or even praising the other. Because, as a duo, these two Flames youngsters have elevated their game to heights not seen before in these colours.
They're literally doing it all.
(Even fighting.)
Andersson scored the OT winner in SoCal and finished the trip a point in each of the four games, while climbing north of the 25-minute mark, twice, on back-to-back nights before the NHL's festive break. Hanifin, meanwhile, had a pair of helpers, including a sublime setup to Dillon Dube to help the Flames grab an important single point in Tinseltown, while firing 11 shots on target in the final three games of the voyage.

Together, they're giving the Flames what every good team needs - a workhorse pairing that can be trusted in all situations, and leaned on to produce when the situation calls for it.
"I think we both feel pretty good," Hanifin said. "It's one of those things where you get into the rhythm of the game more when you play that many minutes.
"Some games are different than others depending on the grind of the game, but for me, I know that's my job - my job is to play bigger minutes, play in important situations and help the team win games. Ras is a really easy guy to play with and I think we've handled it pretty well so far.
"With Ras, we know he's a great player. He does everything so well and can impact a game in so many different ways. He has a lot of confidence and I think that's his biggest strength. And he's playing with a lot of confidence right now, especially. It's good to see.
"He's playing huge minutes for us and he's kind of blossomed into a really good defenceman in this league. It's been great to play with him the past few years and to see that growth, in his game alone - but between us as partners, too."
Andersson, understandably, is getting a lot of the attention right now. Scoring a game-winner in last outing (while tying your career high in goals, with more than a half-season to go) and setting a pace that puts him among the team leaders in points will certainly do that.
But Hanifin, too, is emerging into something special right before our eyes.
It's easy to forget that the 25-year-old has already played 551 regular-season games in this league and has 216 career points (45G, 171A), including 48 last year in what was a career season for him offensively.
It's commonly accepted that defenceman, by and large, take longer to develop - and yet Hanifin was thrust into the spotlight as an 18-year-old and has already put together a career's worth of numbers, at an age before many of us regular folk have purchased their first home.
"I think it's a few things," Hanifin said, pondering why we've seen such an uptick in his offensive contributions lately. "Like I say sometimes, I'm not just going out there trying to get points. My goal is to contribute by creating chances for the team. Lately, I've been kind of fortunate that they've been going in the net for the team and we've been scoring more goals, too. That's obviously good to see.
"Does confidence play into that, too? Yeah, probably.
"It's kind of like what we talked about with Ras. When you have a good partner, you're both playing well and feeding off each other, it's definitely easier and gives the green light sometimes to try and make plays."
Hanifin has always been ahead of the curve.
Before he even turned 18, he suited up for the Boston College Eagles, becoming the second-youngest player in school history to play at the NCAA level.
And he thrived.
When he was drafted to the NHL, the scouts couldn't stop raving about his mobility and offensive instincts - both of which have been on full display here in the bigs. But perhaps the most underrated aspect of his elite skill-set was how well he could defend.
That's the part that we're seeing now on a daily basis with the Flames - and is likely most critical if the team is going to go on a run in the back nine of the season.
The unofficial 'second half' of the campaign begins tonight, with the Flames hosting the archrival Oilers in the final regular-season installment of the Battle of Alberta.
And with Connor McDavid - who enters the night on a tidy, 15-game point-scoring spree - on the other side, it's the kind of night where Hanifin and Andersson will be counted on big to have one of their best nights yet.
"It's one thing to play them and it's always a big game when we do," Hanifin said. "But I think, with the situation both teams are in - right there, head-to-head in that playoff race - and we want to gain some more ground against them.
"It's a huge game for both teams tonight."