The first month of the 2018-19 season is officially over for the Calgary Flames. They have played 13 games, and have a respectable 7-5-1 record. They have often looked dominant, but just as often looked dismal. As the Flames continue to work out what kind of team they are, certain players have already been standouts, and star selections show it.
In October, 39 total star selections were made during games involving Calgary, and 18 were awarded to Flames. Let’s take a look what types of performances have led to star selections.
Game 1: Flames @ Canucks
| First Star | Elias Pettersson | 1 G / 1 A / 1 SOG |
| Second Star | Jacob Markstrom | 35 SA / .943 SV% |
| Third Star | Christopher Tanev | 0 G / 1 A / 0 SOG |
Game 2: Flames vs. Canucks
| First Star | Johnny Gaudreau | 1 G / 2 A / 5 SOG |
| Second Star | Elias Pettersson | 2 G / 1 A / 5 SOG |
| Third Star | Elias Lindholm | 2 G / 1 A / 5 SOG |
Game 3: Flames @ Nashville
| First Star | Mike Smith | 43 SA / 1.000 SV% |
| Second Star | Johnny Gaudreau | 0 G / 3 A / 2 SOG |
| Third Star | Sean Monahan | 2 G / 0 A / 4 SOG |
Game 4: Flames @ St. Louis
| First Star | David Perron | 3 G / 0 A / 3 SOG |
| Second Star | Brayden Schenn | 0 G / 3 A / 2 SOG |
| Third Star | Alexander Steen | 1 G / 1 A / 2 SOG |
Game 5: Flames @ Colorado
| First Star | Johnny Gaudreau | 1 G / 0 A / 8 SOG |
| Second Star | Semyon Varlamov | 41 SA / .927 SV% |
| Third Star | Elias Lindholm | 1 G / 0 A / 2 SOG |
Game 6: Flames vs. Boston
| First Star | Michael Frolik | 2 G / 0 A / 3 SOG |
| Second Star | Patrice Bergeron | 1 G / 1 A / 7 SOG |
| Third Star | Juuso Valimaki | 1 G / 0 A / 3 SOG |
Game 7: Flames vs. Nashville
| First Star | Kevin Fiala | 1 G / 1 A / 3 SOG |
| Second Star | Ryan Ellis | 0 G / 2 A / 2 SOG |
| Third Star | Sam Bennett | 1 G / 0 A / 3 SOG |
Game 8: Flames @ New York Rangers
| First Star | David Rittich | 45 SA / .978 SV% |
| Second Star | Johnny Gaudreau | 2 G / 0 A / 4 SOG |
| Third Star | Garnet Hathaway | 2 G / 0 A / 2 SOG |
Game 9: Flames @ Canadiens
| First Star | Jonathan Drouin | 1 G / 1 A / 3 SOG |
| Second Star | Max Domi | 0 G / 2 A / 3 SOG |
| Third Star | Jeff Petry | 1 G / 1 A / 3 SOG |
Game 10: Flames vs. Penguins
| First Star | Patric Hornqvist | 2 G / 0 A / 4 SOG |
| Second Star | Phil Kessel | 2 G / 0 A / 5 SOG |
| Third Star | Sidney Crosby | 1 G / 2 A / 2 SOG |
Game 11: Flames vs. Capitals
| First Star | Johnny Gaudreau | 0 G / 2 A / 2 SOG |
| Second Star | Evgeny Kuznetsov | 0 G / 2 A / 2 SOG |
| Third Star | Matthew Tkachuk | 1 G / 0 A / 2 SOG |
Game 12: Flames @ Maple Leafs
| First Star | Elias Lindholm | 1 G / 1 A / 6 SOG |
| Second Star | Sean Monahan | 1 G / 1 A / 2 SOG |
| Third Star | Frederik Andersen | 33 SA / .939 SV% |
Game 13: Flames @ Sabres
| First Star | Carter Hutton | 38 SA / .947 SV% |
| Second Star | Johnny Gaudreau | 1 G / 0 A / 5 SOG |
| Third Star | Jack Eichel | 1 G / 0 A / 2 SOG |
Johnny Gaudreau has led the way for the Flames making six appearances, selected as first and second star three times each; four of which were multi-point performances.
In the six games that he was selected, he totaled five goals and seven assists, as well as 26 shots on net. He’s been dynamic on the ice and has often been the most important player in a game.
Elias Lindholm follows with three appearances; one as the first star and two as the third star. Lindholm has been a great complement on the Flames’ first line thus far, and he’s earning his minutes there. In his three selections, he totaled four goals, two assists, and 13 shots on net.
Sean Monahan is the last Flame to show up more than once, and he has a second and third star selection to his name. Both instances of Monahan getting selected were multi-point games for him.
Outside of the Flames’ definitive first line, no other Flames have been selected more than once (Elias Pettersson of the Vancouver Canucks has done better in this regard, selected as first and second star in his first two games against Calgary respectively).
The Flames goaltending tandem of Mike Smith and David Rittich each have a first star selection to their name; Smith’s coming from his shutout win against the Nashville Predators and Rittich during his goaltending clinic against the New York Rangers.
Surprisingly, Matthew Tkachuk has only been selected as a star once, despite being second on the team in points. Mark Giordano probably deserves a few more selections to his name as well.
As the season progresses, it’ll be interesting to see which other players start making the list, or if the Flames’ first line will continue to be the standouts.
