The Calgary Flames held first place in the Pacific Division for the entirety of December, and ascended their way atop the entire NHL. Thanks to spectacular play from their top players, they find themselves having one of their first halves in franchise history.
The Flames were scheduled for 14 games in December and out of 42 possible star selections, the Flames were selected 26 times. In a month that saw them go 9-3-2, their best players based on star selections were Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, Matthew Tkachuk, and David Rittich; each being selected seven, five, three, and three times, respectively.
Game 27: Flames @ Blackhawks
First Star | Derek Ryan | 1 G / 0 A / 3 SOG |
Second Star | Sean Monahan | 1 G / 1 A / 5 SOG |
Third Star | Jonathan Toews | 1 G / 0 A / 1 SOG |
Game 28: Flames @ Blue Jackets
First Star | Johnny Gaudreau | 2 G / 2 A / 4 SOG |
Second Star | Cam Atkinson | 3 G / 0 A / 5 SOG |
Third Star | Sean Monahan | 2 G / 2 A / 2 SOG |
Game 29: Flames vs. Wild
First Star | Mike Smith | 31 SA / 1.000 SV% |
Second Star | Elias Lindholm | 2 G / 0 A / 3 SOG |
Third Star | Johnny Gaudreau | 0 G / 2 A / 1 SOG |
Game 30: Flames vs Predators
First Star | Oliver Kylington | 1 G / 1 A / 2 SOG |
Second Star | Sean Monahan | 1 G / 1 A / 4 SOG |
Third Star | Alan Quine | 1 G / 0 A / 1 SOG |
Game 31: Flames @ Oilers
First Star | Mikko Koskinen | 24 SA / 1.000 SV% |
Second Star | Connor McDavid | 1 G / 0 A / 5 SOG |
Third Star | David Rittich | 30 SA / 0.967 SV% |
Game 32: Flames vs. Flyers
First Star | Sean Monahan | 2 G / 1 A / 8 SOG |
Second Star | Sean Couturier | 2 G / 1 A / 5 SOG |
Third Star | Matthew Tkachuk | 0 G / 4 A / 7 SOG |
Game 33: Flames @ Wild
First Star | David Rittich | 35 SA / 0.971 SV% |
Second Star | Jordan Greenway | 1 G / 0 A / 1 SOG |
Third Star | Jonas Brodin | 0 G / 0 A / 1 SOG |
Game 34: Flames @ Blues
First Star | Johnny Gaudreau | 2 G / 1 A / 5 SOG |
Second Star | Matthew Tkachuk | 1 G / 1 A / 6 SOG |
Third Star | Mark Giordano | 1 G / 1 A / 3 SOG |
Game 35: Flames @ Stars
First Star | Ben Bishop | 21 SA / 1.000 SV% |
Second Star | Radek Faksa | 1 G / 0 A / 1 SOG |
Third Star | Esa Lindell | 0 G / 0 A / 6 SOG |
Game 36: Flames vs. Lightning
First Star | Johnny Gaudreau | 1 G / 1 A / 6 SOG |
Second Star | Nikita Kucherov | 0 G / 2 A / 4 SOG |
Third Star | Sam Bennett | 1 G / 1 A / 3 SOG |
Game 37: Flames vs. Blues
First Star | David Perron | 1 G / 1 A / 2 SOG |
Second Star | Jake Allen | 29 SA / 0.966 SV% |
Third Star | Johnny Gaudreau | 0 G / 1 A / 4 SOG |
Game 38: Flames @ Jets
First Star | David Rittich | 36 SA / 0.972 SV% |
Second Star | Johnny Gaudreau | 3 G / 0 A / 4 SOG |
Third Star | Adam Lowry | 1 G / 0 A / 3 SOG |
Game 39: Flames vs. Canucks
First Star | Jacob Markstrom | 33 SA / 0.939 SV% |
Second Star | Mark Jankowski | 1 G / 1 A / 4 SOG |
Third Star | Elias Pettersson | 1 G / 0 A / 3 SOG |
Game 40: Flames vs. Sharks
First Star | Johnny Gaudreau | 2 G / 2 A / 3 SOG |
Second Star | Sean Monahan | 0 G / 5 A / 3 SOG |
Third Star | Matthew Tkachuk | 2 G / 2 A / 5 SOG |
December 2018 went down in the history books as Gaudreau’s best month in his career. He scored at a torrid pace, putting up 26 points in 14 games. He was selected as first star an astounding five times and rightfully so. Only Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning had a better December in the entire league.
Monahan and Tkachuk were also stellar in their play (as they’ve been all season long). They were big reasons as to why the Flames did as well as they did. Monahan totalled 21 points in December (T-4th in the league) while Tkachuk had 17 (T-19th).
Lastly, now the definitive starter for the Calgary Flames, Rittich was highly dependable and gave the Flames chances to win all month long. Playing 10 games in December, he posted a 5-2-2 record with a save percentage of .915%. In the three times he was selected as star, his save percentage was a .970%. There’s little doubt in any one’s mind that he’s found his game and will back stop the Flames as their starter for the rest of the season.
Of course, other Flames had standout performances in December too, but every other player was only selected once. Most notably, Alan Quine was a third star once during his brief call-up to the NHL. Elias Lindholm, who was oft selected as a star in October and November, was surprisingly only selected once despite scoring 18 points.
There’s no telling how the Flames will do in 2019. Will Gaudreau continue his scoring ways? Will Rittich be reliable as his workload grows? Which other players step up and play large enough roles to be selected as stars? Only time will tell, but the stars have aligned for the Flames’ top players and they’re definitely making their presence known in the league.