Flames Takeaways: New tape job helps Huberdeau snap scoring drought

We’re all familiar with the band-aid approach to fixing something.

Introducing the tape-job approach.

After ending 2023 with an 18-game goalless drought, Jonathan Huberdeau scored in his first game of the year Tuesday, with a slick finish that wound up being the game-winner.

And while many will point to the line swap that saw him take Andrew Mangiapane’s spot on the top trio, Huberdeau pointed elsewhere.

“I’ve got to give credit to Marc Savard – he’s been taping my stick,” chuckled Huberdeau of the assistant coach who has a long history as a tape-job guru.

“Black tape too.

“Just creating some things. He’s pretty pumped.”

As an organization, they’ve tried everything over the last year-and-a-half to try kick-starting the former Panthers star, but perhaps a new approach to tape is the answer.

Savard has switched Huberdeau’s tape on the toe of his stick from white to black the last two games, which coincides with a pair of the wingers’ best games of the season.

On New Year’s Eve, he ended a 12-game pointless streak with a beauty assist.

As an encore he corralled a nice Elias Lindholm pass in front of the net, which he finished on the go with a slick forehand to backhand deke he deposited past Marc-Andre Fleury to give the Flames a 2-0 first-period lead.

“That felt good... it has been a while,” said Huberdeau, whose fifth of the season came in the final minute of the first period, and was key in a 3-1 win to kick off a four-game road trip.

“I think lately we have been playing better, I think it was good to get chemistry on that line too.

"That one obviously felt good, especially to finish it off with a win."

While Huberdeau said the line shuffling has helped of late, he’s also felt through the holidays his game was trending in the right direction.

“I think I was creating a little bit more, so he thought he could change the line and go with Lindy (and Yegor Sharangovich),” said Huberdeau, who has failed in previous attempts to create magic with the team’s top centre. 

“We’ve got to make it work.

“We’ve got to be an offensive line, a good line he can trust us too.

“That’s what we’ve been doing so we’ve got to keep doing that.”

Added coach Ryan Huska, “(The line change) might be a part of it but he had chances where he was playing before – they just weren’t going in,” he said.

“The game prior to this against Philadelphia he made a nice play on Dennis (Gilbert’s) goal.

“Tonight he finishes a nice passing play for us, so hopefully that’s a sign of good things continuing to come for him.”

Nothing could be more pleasing for the organization, meaning Savard, who has a series of YouTube videos called Taping Twigs, will undoubtedly be tasked with bringing on another tape job. 

Huberdeau’s slump-buster was preceded midway through the first by a Mangiapane strike that ended an eight-game goalless drought for him, giving him four points in his last two outings. 

No word on who taped his stick.

BLOCK PARTY

With the Flames clinging to a 2-1 lead in the third, the Wild outshot the Flames 16-1 in the first half of the final frame.

It would have been even worse had the Flames’ big four at the back not stood up with a series of painful-looking blocks.

Chris Tanev had five, Rasmus Andersson and MacKenzie Weegar had four apiece and Noah Hanifin had three, as the team made 24 blocks all told – many in that precarious stretch.

“It’s our identity,” Weegar told Sportsnet Fan 960 afterwards.

“Blocking shots is huge for our team and getting a little momentum.”
When the shots did get through, there stood Jacob Markstrom, who was fantastic for the sixth-straight time since his return from injury.

“He’s been excellent,” said Huska, whose netminder made 28 saves to be the game’s first star.

“We often talk with Marky about when he’s rested – he hates it because he wants to play 82. But when he’s rested he’s a really good goaltender, one of the best in the league for sure.

“We rely on him in a lot of situations. There’s not too many games this year where you could say, ‘Marky wasn’t there.’ He was our best player, by far, tonight and we’re going to need him to continue to be.”

The Flames now have points in seven of their last nine games, and are once again at .500 (16-16-5) to sit tied for fifth in the crowded wild-card race, three points back of second.

Game 2 of their four-game roadie continues in Nashville on Thursday, with afternoon games Saturday and Sunday in Philadelphia and Chicago respectively.