Consistency paying dividends for Flames’ top line

It probably comes as no surprise that the Flames have one of the highest scoring lines in the NHL.

Johnny Gaudreau, Sean Monahan, and Micheal Ferland lead the Flames in scoring. They are the bulk of the team’s offence, especially as of late, with the entire line on a multi-game multi-point streak. Though two members of the line – Monahan and Ferland – have shooting percentages over 18%, leading the rest of the Flames by a fair margin, everything is clicking.

It hasn’t been perfect throughout the entire season. The line did stop scoring some in December, and the current good times will probably come to a halt again at some point later on. But they’ve been a pretty phenomenal trio overall – and consistency likely has a lot to do with that.

Before Ferland, Gaudreau and Monahan formed two-thirds of a great line, with Jiri Hudler being their final piece. Then Hudler got injured, then he left the Flames, and since then, the Flames’ designated top line was in limbo, constantly shuffling through new right wings, but without much success.

Following Hudler’s departure, in the 2016-17 season, Gaudreau and Monahan went through quite the rotating cast of wingers. Via Corsica, all stats at 5v5:

When Ferland joined the top line for the final quarter of that year, that’s when things seemed to click. He scored two goals, the Flames went on a 10-game win streak, and the rest was history. It wasn’t necessarily that all other incarnations of Gaudreau and Monahan’s line previously had been failures: it’s that they weren’t anywhere near as successful as they were with Ferland. Sure, a little luck swung their way to make it happen, but it’s also pretty hard to find fault in scoring a lot of goals.

While Alex Chiasson didn’t sink their line, fact is, goal scoring is a separate talent from puck possession – and for a top line, it isn’t good enough to just be in the black. The top line has to score a lot, as well. Chiasson couldn’t provide that. Ferland, on the other hand, with a lethal shot, deft hands, and the brain to keep up with two players of higher offensive caliber, could.

Ferland hasn’t played exclusively on Gaudreau and Monahan’s line this season, but he has spent far, far more time with them than anyone else has. Consider Gaudreau and Monahan’s linemate stats so far through 2017-18:

The duo has also played alongside Michael Frolik, Curtis Lazar, and Troy Brouwer, but at that point we’re talking 11, 13 minutes. It’s basically negligible.

Jaromir Jagr is an interesting “what could have been”. When Ferland was absent from the top line, Jagr took his place. He played on the powerplay with Gaudreau and Monahan. It looked like something was on the cusp of happening there before Jagr’s injury troubles struck, and just never went away.

But ultimately, Ferland was always going to be a better long-term solution, by virtue of being 20 years younger. And while Jagr looked to be fitting in with Gaudreau and Monahan, Ferland fits with them as well, albeit in a different, but still very effective, way. The slightly elevated numbers are still there, but maybe that’s just the way things are going to go for this group. Within the past year they have played over 650 5v5 minutes together, and they’ve been successful way more often than not, percentages be damned.

It all comes back to consistency. When I spoke to Johnny Gaudreau at the start of the season, he seemed almost relieved that he was going into this year knowing exactly who his linemates were going to be. It’s likely made things much easier for the three of them. By now they’re a well-oiled machine; the way they seamlessly dish off the puck to one another doesn’t happen without that familiarity.

They’re the most used line the Flames have had all season, and it’s impossible to see it being broken up any time soon. Think back to Ferland spending most of his 2016-17 season on the fourth line to where he is today. There have been bumps along the way – demotions, scoring droughts – but it turns out Ferland was exactly the solution the Flames were looking for when Hudler’s effectiveness ran out.

That a 5’10, 190 lb. skilled player would be replaced by a 6’2, 208 lb. also skilled, but also very physical one probably wasn’t something that many would have foreseen, but this is a line that has truly grown together. The shooting percentages may drop, but even then they’re still controlling play, still drawing penalties, and still proving themselves effective through and through.

While someone else may be able to take it to another level, as things stand now, Gaudreau, Monahan, and Ferland have earned their extensive time together.