The Calgary Flames are undefeated in 2024 thanks to Jonathan Hubderdeau.
That is the tagline you will see everywhere until a point in time when the team suffers a loss, as the team rattled off a road victory against the Minnesota Wild to kick off the new year.
Jacob Markstrom played fantastic, as did the reunited line of Andrew Mangiapane, Mikael Backlund, and Blake Coleman. Still, the best part of the night had to be Huberdeau getting some of his mojo back.
The Return of the King?
After going almost the entire month of December without registering a point, Huberdeau’s assist on New Year’s Eve saved him from a wealth of ridicule. With tonight’s performance, including the game-winning goal, it’s hard to rag on him too much going into the next game.
Huberdeau’s goal wasn’t just the tally that would hold up as the winner, it finally showcased this season the type of skill that many have known Huberdeau to have:
Since being promoted to the top line with Elias Lindholm and Yegor Sharangovich, Huberdeau has looked like a different player. It is just two games, which is far from a solid sample, but throughout both contests, Huberdeau has performed better in both underlying numbers and when it comes to the eye test.
Before those two wins, you’d often find Huberdeau at the bottom of the pack, but since the move, he’s been in the top ranking of forwards when it comes to game impacts:
Despite his contract length and dollar amount, you can be sure that everyone in Calgary is rooting for Huberdeau to find his game. So far, 2024 has gotten off to the start that everyone has dreamed of.
It’s up to Huberdeau to sustain it now.
