Flames counting on top line to stay hot in first round against Stars
'Good chemistry' drives Gaudreau, Lindholm, Tkachuk to historic season
But once they were, the forwards soon found they had great chemistry, leading to the most productive regular season for Calgary in decades.
Now those three will try to keep it going against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Game 1 is at Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN2, CBC, SN, TVAS2, BSSW).
All three reached NHL career highs in points this season. Gaudreau, a left wing, led the Flames with 115 points (40 goals, 75 assists). It's the first time Gaudreau reached 100 points; he had 99 points (36 goals, 63 assists) in 2018-19.
"We feel really comfortable together on the ice," Gaudreau said. "Tkachuk's] a really good player, really smart, he sees the ice really well and is really good in front of the net, down low. 'Lindy' is pretty much the same type of player, really good in his own zone, he has a great shot and we like playing together."
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Lindholm, at center, scored 82 points (42 goals, 40 assists), tying a career high he first set in 2018-19 (27 goals, 51 assists). Tkachuk, at right wing, had 104 points (42 goals, 62 assists); his previous career high was 77 (34 goals, 43 assists) in 2018-19.
"Honestly, I didn't know who I was going to be playing with [this season] but when you're playing with guys like that, it makes it a lot easier for me," Tkachuk said. "We've just had really good chemistry so far.
"The first few preseason games, we clicked right away. Once the season started, [we] seemed to roll pretty well. We've kept it going ever since."
The three combined for 301 points this season, the most of any three-players in the NHL, 14 more than the combined 287 points by the Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid (123), Leon Draisaitl (110) and Zach Hyman (54).
They gave the Flames three 40-goal scorers for the first time since 1993-94 and for the third time in their history.
The Stars played the Flames three times in the regular season. Tkachuk (two goals, one assist) and Lindholm (three assists) each had three points against them and Gaudreau had two points (one goal, one assist) to help the Flames go 2-0-1. Stars defenseman John Klingberg said it's "probably the best line in the League."
"If you try to limit their time in the [offensive] zone and at the same time, try to be as close to them as you can and not take penalties, try to play with the puck against them more than they have the puck, that's maybe going to frustrate them a little bit," Klingberg said. "They're a good team, it's not just them but obviously you focus on them a little bit more. But I think if you stick to your game, and we feel we have a really good game, it should work out."
Stars coach Rick Bowness said Calgary's top line reminds him of Dallas' top line of left wing Jason Robertson, center Roope Hintz and right wing Joe Pavelski, which led Dallas with a combined 232 points in the regular season.
"Just highly skilled players that have great chemistry. That Lindholm trade they made a couple of years ago getting him from Carolina, that was a great trade," Bowness said of the Flames acquiring Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin from the Carolina Hurrricanes for defensemen Dougie Hamilton and Adam Fox, and forward Micheal Ferland on June 23, 2018.
"Gaudreau's coming into his own, and so is Tkachuk. They're young players, they're going to keep getting better. There's just chemistry between those three, same as Roope's line here."
The Flames, who won the Pacific Division, are back in the playoffs after not qualifying last season. Since advancing to the Stanley Cup Final in 2003-04, the Flames have made it to the second round once, 2014-15, when they were swept in four games by the Anaheim Ducks. At the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour in September, Tkachuk said "enough is enough" regarding the Flames' inconsistencies, and now it was time for them to make an impact in the playoffs. If they do, that top line will likely play a big part in it.
"I don't think there are many teams we haven't beaten this year. If we've played them a few times we beat them at least once," Tkachuk said. "Keep that positive and just the even keel. You can always fall back on the stuff that's made us successful this year. We've got a very deep team, so we can rely on everybody and that makes it easier when you have that depth."
NHL.com independent correspondent Taylor Baird contributed to this report.
