Jonathan Huberdeau off to strong start for Calgary Flames

Philadelphia Flyers' Scott Laughton, right, skates past as Calgary Flames' Jonathan Huberdeau, second left, celebrates his goal with teammates during first period NHL hockey action in Calgary on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Jonathan Huberdeau did mental and physical work in the off-season in an effort to make his third season as a Calgary Flame his best one yet.

The 31-year-old got off to a strong start with two goals and two assists in Saturday's 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in Calgary's home-opener.

Huberdeau's four-point outing followed his goal in Calgary's season-opening 6-5 overtime road win over the Vancouver Canucks, for a total of five points in his first two games of 2024-25.

Traded to the Flames in the summer of 2022 and signed then to an eight-year, US$84-million contract, Huberdeau famously said after his first season in Calgary "I completely lost my swagger."

The left-winger totalled 107 points over his first two seasons in Calgary after a single-season 115 with the Florida Panthers before his trade to Calgary.

Huberdeau says he hit the gym hard and sought guidance from psychologists to arrive at September's training camp confident and optimistic.

"That's the best I've felt the past two years," Huberdeau said. "It's early, but I was feeling good to come into training camp and worked really hard this summer to be able to be at my best.

"Working mentally with psychologists, stuff like that, to kind of get my confidence back, that's what I did throughout the summer. Feeling good physically too is important. There's no excuses out there."

Huberdeau of Saint-Jerome, Que., has been under pressure to live up to a contract that's worth US$10.5 million per year.

There were signs of an upward trend in the second half of last season when his average points-per-game increased from .5 to .8.

'Difference maker'

"He wants to be a difference maker every night and it hasn't gone the way he'd like to see it go over the last couple years," Flames head coach Ryan Huska said Saturday. "But he's doing a lot of things, and he did prior years too, well without the puck.

"He's killing penalties now and I'm probably more excited about that stuff than the points that he put on the board tonight, because, I don't know, I feel like he's engaged even in the penalty kill. That's something that's good for us. We need him right now."

Martin Pospisil was shifted from the wing to become Huberdeau's centre, with newcomer Anthony Mantha playing on their right side.

The trio combined on an interesting first goal by Huberdeau that gave Calgary a 1-0 lead.

Pospisil flipped the puck to the front of Philadelphia's net where it deflected off Huberdeau's shoulder and over Philadelphia's Ivan Fedotov.

"I don't think I've ever scored a goal on my shoulder," Huberdeau said.

He set up MacKenzie Weegar's one-timer for a 2-0 Flames lead heading into the second period, and generated Calgary's fifth goal of the game in the third period to help seal the victory.

"It's one game. There's 80 more," Huberdeau said. "It's a long season. Having these kinds of nights help build the confidence."

Calgary's first victory this season in the Saddledome was triumphant for another Flame in front of an announced sellout of 19,289.

Goaltender Dustin Wolf was the difference early by stopping all 18 shots he faced in the first period and repelling 37 overall in his first start this season.

"It's fantastic," said the 23-year-old. "That's the goal. You want to get in the net, especially the homer-opener is pretty special."

Wolf and Dan Vladar, who was in net for the OT in Vancouver, will vie for starts this season. Wolf's rebound control was airtight Saturday.

"When he's not letting out rebounds, things are kind of sticking to him, and he seems like he knows where the puck is," Huska said. "He's tracking it well."

Gaudreau tribute

Saturday's pre-game Johnny Gaudreau video montage of his electrifying moments during his eight years as a Flame drew a standing ovation and chants of "John-ny" at the Saddledome.

Gaudreau, who went on to play for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and his brother Matthew were cycling on Aug. 29 when they were struck and killed by a vehicle.

The Flames held a candlelight vigil five days later at the Saddledome, where people left flowers and team memorabilia in tribute to Gaudreau.

NHL players are wearing helmet decals with the brothers' numbers 13 and 21 this season, and Wolf has taken that a step further.

His mask's backplate bears an image of Gaudreau in Flames colours wearing his No. 13 and saluting the crowd.

"Everyone knows it's just awful. You know, in the summer after it happened, I was able to go out to the memorial for a bit, kind of share my piece," Wolf said. "I only knew him very little, was only around him very little, but being an American … thought it was really important to honour him and his family and his kids."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 12, 2024.