CALGARY – Long before Jonathan Huberdeau arrived at the rink for Friday’s practice, he knew what was coming.
“We deserved that one today,” said the Calgary Flames winger following a predictably spirited skate.
“I mean, we didn’t show up (Thursday), and especially in front of our own fans, that can’t happen.
“Today it was a hard practice for the guys and the guys showed up, so we know we can do it. We’ve just got to transfer that into the game.”
The coach didn’t hurl his stick into the stands, the mid-ice meetings weren’t littered with expletives and no one smashed any of their Heritage Classic throwback sticks in fits of rage.
What the practice did include were several line skates, lots of instruction and endless compete drills.
The modern-day bag skate.
As much of a test as the team’s four-game losing skid has been on the players, there are also plenty of people looking to see how first-year coach Ryan Huska is reacting to the team’s 2-5-1 start.
While many wondered if the Flames had continued their Goldilocks flip-flop by alternating between coaches who are too hard and too soft on players, Darryl Sutter’s successor knows all eyes are on him to see if he’s got enough firmness to push players through this early storm.
“He’s been pretty calm,” said Huberdeau, pointless in his last four — a stretch that has seen him go minus-9.
“Obviously, it would be easy for him to freak out with the start that we’ve had.
“But he’s a smart coach, and he knows what it takes for us to win.
“Today was an example. You saw, we worked on the ice. That’s all we’ve got to do. And I think he prepared that practice for that, to show us that, you can’t cheat on the ice, you’ve got to work hard.”
Huska was frustrated by the team’s shoddy work ethic in Thursday’s 3-0 loss, issuing measured criticism of his squad after an outing he said his team deserved to be booed in.
Several of his players agreed, with Nikita Zadorov going as far as to apologize to fans for the team’s play.
Friday was all about turning the page while using the uniqueness of an outdoor game to help the players from fixating on the struggle that threatens to derail their season before it’s a month old.
It was almost symbolic that after a tough, business-like skate, the players punctuated practice at Seven Chiefs Sportsplex by grabbing proper-fitting cowboy hats and jean wear to sport upon arrival at Commonwealth Stadium.
“Sometimes distractions like this aren’t the best thing because they take away from what we should have done last night, but this is a pretty special event for these guys to be a part of,” said Huska of the very first Battle of Alberta to be played outdoors.
“I remember the one in Regina that I was a part of, and it was one of the coolest things that I was around.
“It’s a really neat thing for the players.
“So they’ll be excited about it.
“There’s going to be a lot of energy, a lot of emotion on both sides for sure.
“You may never get this chance again, so without a doubt, you want to enjoy your moments while you’re at the rink but recognize that this is a game where two points are on the line and that’s the most important thing.”
As desperate as the Flames are to turn their fortunes, it’s well-documented the host Oilers are in an even bigger funk at 1-5-1.
With two full days of Heritage Classic hype ahead of them, the Flames know it will be a careful balance of celebrating the novelty of it all while remaining focused and desperate.
“It’s been a tough little stretch here, but we played some good hockey before and now we have a great opportunity to just forget about the past and just really enjoy this weekend here,” said Mikael Backlund, who played in the 2019 Heritage game in Regina that Huska alluded to.
“It’s going to be a very special game, and we have a great chance here to really enjoy it, play really well and hopefully get that win.”
NOTE: Adam Ruzicka tested his injured shoulder by practising with the team before leaving the ice early. No word on his status for Sunday.
The Flames said they are planning to see Connor McDavid in action, even though he was listed last weekend as being out one to two weeks.
