There will be a lot of people watching the Calgary Flames’ best players when the team reaches the Stanley Cup Playoffs next week.
Justly.
But it could be another one that deserves some close eyes.
Dillon Dube.
The back row, who routinely skates alongside center Jarnkrok Street and two-time Stanley Cup winner Blake Coleman, has the potential to be Calgary’s breakout star heading into next week’s opening-round series against a opponent yet to be determined.
“What has… seven goals in the last 10 or 11 games? Just happy for him because he’s having individual success,” veteran striker Milan Lucic, a frequent Dube teammate and former Cup winner, told reporters on Tuesday. “You can see the smile on her face.
“You see the talent and everything that he can bring to a game and to a team, and all that kind of stuff. It’s good to see him warm up at the right time here. He is an important player for us, and we are going to need him to continue playing well and advance here”.
Dube’s recent career suggests that he may.
Only four skaters — the usual suspects of Elias Lindholm (25), Johnny Gaudreau (21), Matthew Tkachuk (20) and Andrew Mangiapane (15) — have more goals than Dube’s 12 in the 37 games since the Game of 20 break. NHL stars. .
He has six in the last six games to lead the team from April 14 onwards.
“I think I just needed to be a lot better for this team down the stretch,” Dube said after a two-goal performance. against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. “Raising my game to get ready for the playoffs and trying to get to that place, and I think it had to be a lot better, so I’ve been doing better lately.”
Dube has logged 197 games with the Flames in his NHL career, scoring 34 goals and 73 points for a 0.37 points-per-game rate.
In limited playoff games, a 10-game bubble in 2019-20, Dube has four goals and five points.
Not that that success necessarily counts.
“I really don’t know to be honest,” said Dube, who had only 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in the first 42 games of the season. “That was a long time ago. It was crazy during the quarantine bubble times. It’s going to be a different playoff this year. You can’t be happy about the past. We didn’t go too far that year, so I think it’s a sort of a collective as a group here; everyone be at their best.”
Dube will be counted on for more than just production in the playoffs.
In that third-tier role, he’ll be tasked with helping raise Calgary’s energy level. The frequent penalty kick will also work on both sides of the special teams. Mix in a few hits (it’s the sixth since the All-Star break in that regard among regulars) and there’s a chance Dube could take up the mantle of standout postseason performer left behind by Sam Bennett’s departure last spring.
“He is playing with a lot of confidence, not just lately. If you look at it, it’s probably from the All-Star break,” Flames skipper Darryl Sutter. saying.
“He gives you a good solid player, a guy who can play both sides. Of all those young guys, he is one who has proven himself on other levels, but on the big stage. He has played well for us.
He’s just a kid. I’ve said it before, there are a lot of these guys who were here earlier than they should have been. They should have been learning the game and playing a little more at the American League level. He’s his own worst critic, and he listens, and I’m fine with that.”
harsh critic.
Great worker.
It is a good formula to improve the game when it matters most.
“You put the work; it gives you confidence,” Dube said.
“This is how I have been growing as a player. You put the work; it builds confidence on the ice, so everything to get to where I want to be and then be at my best this time of year so even my body feels good heading into the playoffs.”
Reference-dailyhive.com