CALGARY – Standing alone at the back of a deathly silent dressing room, Sean Monahan spoke candidly.
"I’m frustrated," said the Flames alternate captain.
"Losing sucks and I’m not playing the way I want to, so it gets frustrating."
His immediate mood was set by a 2-1 loss to the surging Stars of Dallas Wednesday – the Flames’ second setback in a row. They’ve scored once in that span.
Fueling his fury is the fact the top trio he’s centred to the top ranking in the west has gone stone cold.
Aside from one game this month, he, Johnny Gaudreau and Elias Lindholm have shown no signs of the magic that had them dominating the league a few months back.
Luckily for the Flames the depth of the roster has found a way to keep the Flames six points up on San Jose for the division title. (Seven when you consider the Flames would win the tiebreaker).
But the natives are getting restless as the stars of this club are struggling mightily.
The most invisible of the bunch has been Monahan, who has found the score sheet just once in his last eight games.
His play since the all-star break has been eerily reminiscent of his late-season drought last year, which was explained on locker cleanout day when he revealed he needed four surgeries to fix ailments hampering his ability to compete.
Asked point blank if Monahan is playing injured, coach Bill Peters said no.
With all due respect, at this time of year that response means little.
Perhaps more interestingly, Monahan was quietly asked if he’d be one of the players taking a game or two off once the Flames clinched the division.
He said no.
It might not be his choice.
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"It’s a long season – you go through ups and downs and right now I’ve got to get out of this and turn this around quick," said Monahan, 24, who missed two games recently because "something didn’t feel quite right."
"You’ve got to be strong. It’s an important time of the year so I’m trying to gear up and get ready for the playoffs and get my game as sharp as I can."
How does he do that?
"It’s just playing harder," said Monahan who long ago cracked the 30-goal mark for the third time in his six-year career.
"You can get a lot of looks in a game but you don’t count looks on the scoreboard."
Following a 3-0 loss to Los Angeles here Monday, Peters radically altered his three lines, demoting Monahan to the third unit between James Neal and Austin Czarnik Wednesday.
Gaudreau and Lindholm were also put on separate lines, giving the team a significantly different look.
To no avail.
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By the third period of a game in which the Stars did well to stymie the number of high danger chances by the Flames, the three were reunited.
Monahan had a great chance in front of the net with five minutes left in a 2-0 game but was unable to get a shot off.
The two shots in the high slot he had on goal earlier in the game lacked the lethal release he’s been known for for years. Easy saves.
That’s typically his money zone.
The top line failed to get the hosts within one until T.J. Brodie scored with 92 seconds left. From there, the chances were slim as Anton Khudobin finished a game started by Ben Bishop, who left with an injury late in the second. They saved all but one of the 36 shots thrown at them from far out.
Goal scoring hasn’t been a problem in Calgary all season long. Heck, even in the last nine games the club has averaged almost four goals a game.
What scares the locals this close to playoffs is the fact the big guns have turned to popguns at a time when games will start to be won and lost largely on the power play.
Monahan, Gaudreau and Lindholm ARE the power play and they went 0-for 2 Wednesday, albeit on mishmashed units.
The Stars scored both their goals with the man advantage.
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"It’s frustrating (not scoring goals) but you’ve got to get used to it – that’s how games are going to be down the stretch and in the playoffs," said captain Mark Giordano of a tightening mindset the team has hammered home all month.
"Teams are going to tighten up. Tonight they were committed to putting pucks in and trying to defend. Special teams have to help us out – we have to be positive in special teams and we weren’t and that’s the difference."
The Flames have tightened up defensively and got another solid game from David Rittich.
But until their best players play as such, there will be concern heading into a playoff series fans would otherwise be nonplussed about.
"He had some looks," said Peters of Monahan’s latest effort.
"Obviously, confidence would be an issue right now, but he’ll be fine in the long run. Better go through it now than later. He’s a guy who cares and he’ll work on his game and once he gets his first one — and once that group gets its first one — I think things will change."