That's twelve games in a row in which Jonathan Huberdeau hasn't scored a single point. With low morale but never frustrated, the Calgary Flames forward sticks to what he can.
The Quebecer knows he will have one last chance at the end, on Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers, to avoid being completely eliminated from the scoresheet in December.
“I don't think I've ever experienced a sequence like this,” he admitted to the media on Thursday. […] It wasn't easy here, but you can't let that affect you. It's obvious that it will affect you, but you have to remain confident. The points will come.”
“I try to forget that,” added the left winger, who has an annual salary of $10.5 million. I can play 60 games there without a point. You want some, but I stopped thinking about it because it would frustrate me.”
As things stand, Huberdeau would be hard pressed to break the 30-point mark; he has 15 in 35 games.
New trio
Hoping to revive it, head coach Ryan Huska changed his lines. The Saint-Jérôme native will play alongside Elias Lindholm and Yegor Sharangovich.
“Jonathan and Elias, they have to work together,” explained the Flames pilot. You have to find a way to be on the same wavelength. We need to get more out of certain team members and they are two of our key players. They need to get along and do the work for us.”
It's not that Huberdeau isn't trying, but there's no reason to despair. Huska is keeping him on the roster, a sign that the former Florida Panthers can be useful in other ways.
“I think I make plays and it just doesn’t go in. This may not be what everyone sees. In my opinion, I make passes and get chances. It's only a matter of time. “There were a lot of games without points and we had the break, but I think I'm playing good games,” admitted the 30-year-old.
The Flames, who have lost their last two meetings, are fifth in the Pacific Division with 33 points in 35 games.