Johnny Gaudreau, Flames hope layoff won't cool them down

It's not completely clear what has gotten into the Calgary Flames, but they are currently enjoying their bye week sitting in second place in the Pacific Division with a seven-game winning streak under their belts. This same team, just a week before, wasn't even a wild card contender.

So what is it, exactly, that has caused this sudden surge of brilliance? There are a couple factors at work here.

For starters, the Flames appear to have remedied a long-standing problem that they have had between the pipes, and believe it or not, the swag in the crease is coming from a backup goalie. Enter David Rittich, whom Yardbarker pointed out back in December. The 25-year-old Czech has settled in quite nicely as Mike Smith's backup, creating a tandem in Calgary's net that has been needed for some time now. The undrafted free agent has been so good that he's expected to get even more play time down the stretch. Having a 2.03 goals-against average and only one regulation loss to your name will do that fora a netminder. Couple Rittich's numbers with Smith's very solid performance this season — 20-13 record with a 2.46 goals against average, .924 save percentage and two shutouts — and Calgary has the type of stability in net right now few teams can match.

However, the most impressive part of the Flames' sudden success has, of course, been their offensive firepower, particularly from their top line. As SportsNet's Derek Wills points out, Calgary's Johnny Gaudreau-led first line produced 25 points in five tilts as the team extended its winning streak to six games last week. Then, Gaudreau and Micheal Ferland notched three more points combined in the Flames' 4-1 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday. Unsurprisingly, Johnny Hockey leads the team in points, currently tied for second in the NHL in that category, trailing only Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov, while Ferland is second on the team with 19 goals.

Sean Monahan has been pulling his weight plenty as well, going into the bye with a team-leading 21 goals and 21 assists on the stats sheet, sitting second in points on the team behind Gaudrea

The Flames have even been getting production from down the offensive lines — particularly Mikael Backlund, who led the charge on Friday against the Florida Panthers with a goal and two assists.

Are there worries about collecting rust after the five-day bye? Possibly, but when Johnny Hockey gets on a hot streak, he can stay that way for a nice, long stretch of time and take his teammates with him.

Calgary's winning ways should have the Flames feeling extra prepared for when they return from their break, because the upcoming schedule is not so kind. After kicking off their return hosting a tough Winnipeg Jets squad, they have tilts against Pacific Division big boys in the Kings and Golden Knights. Then, after wrapping up a back-to-back with the Chicago Blackhawks at the start of February, the Flames hit the road for an East Coast swing through New York and Boston.

Then again, Calgary defeated the East-leading Tampa Bay Lightning 5-1 last week, and as their recent run of success has shown, perhaps the Flames are now the tough competition the opposition has to worry about — not the other way around.