The Calgary Flames kicked off their 2023-24 season on Wednesday, Oct. 11 against the Winnipeg Jets. They then traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins the following Saturday. The Flames split these two games, winning 5-3 over the Jets and losing 5-2 to the Penguins. Despite the loss in Pittsburgh, Flames fans should find the team’s performance over their first two games encouraging. Here is why.
Markstrom Looks Comfortable
One major question heading into the 2023-24 season was whether or not Jacob Markstrom would be able to bounce back from a lackluster performance in 2022-23. He started the new campaign off with a performance against the Jets that saw him make several flashy saves on his way to a 34-save win. His dominance continued in the first two periods of the game in Pittsburgh, though he gave up three goals in the first five minutes of the third period. Outside of that five-minute stretch, Markstrom has appeared to be back to his old self.
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This start should be a positive indication that Markstrom is on his way to regaining his confidence. By the eye test, Markstrom has looked comfortable and is playing freely. If the Flames hope to contend this season, Markstrom will need to come up with more performances like his showing against the Jets: he must be the reason the team wins games.
Top Line Showing Up
Another key for the Flames in 2023-24 will be getting offensive production from their star players. The Flames’ top line this season has consisted thus far of Jonathan Huberdeau, Andrew Mangiapane, and Elias Lindholm. They will need all three of these players to step up and perform at a high level.
No player on the Flames has more pressure than Jonathan Huberdeau, who is coming back from a 2022-23 season that saw him post the largest decline in points year-over-year in NHL history. Huberdeau appears to be off to a strong start, as he has a goal and two assists in the team’s first two games. If the Flames are hoping to be relevant this season, they are going to need far more out of Huberdeau than the 15 goals and 55 points he put up a season ago. He is the team’s highest-paid player, and he needs to begin performing as so: thus far, he has been.
Lindholm and Mangiapane have also been on their A-game in the Flames’ first two games. Each has four points, one goal and three assists for Lindholm and two goals and two assists for Mangiapane. While it would be totally unrealistic to expect that either of these two would keep up this pace of two points per game, fans should be encouraged that the top line has been able to produce at such a high level right off the bat. If these three can all be close to point-per-game players this season, the Flames will be in a really good spot offensively.
An Encouraging Start
Although it was not a perfect start to the season with one win and one loss, Flames fans should be encouraged by their team’s play in their first two games. There was considerable roster turnover in Calgary, and a new head coach and general manager (GM) were hired this offseason. Whenever an NHL team sees that much change, disaster can ensue; it was a very positive sign that after all that, the Flames put a winning product on the ice in their first game back, and in their second game they competed with a very strong Penguins team outside of a disastrous start to the third period. Markstrom looking comfortable is a positive sign for things to come, and the production the Flames have seen from their top line is indicative that the team will be in a much better position offensively this season than last.
