'I'm Ready To Go'

LAS VEGAS — A familiar face, back on the top line.

Yes, the return of Jonathan Huberdeau to Flames practice Friday was certainly a sight for sore eyes.

The veteran forward - injured in Calgary's penultimate preseason game just over two weeks ago - was back on his left wing Friday morning alongside Nazem Kadri and Joel Farabee and is poised to return to action after missing the first five games of the season, his longest NHL absence in almost nine years.

“Just excited to be back with the team,” he smiled after Friday’s twirl at T-Mobile Arena. “It’s been a long few weeks watching the guys, but I’m ready to go, I’m excited.

“Hopefully I can make a difference out there.”

You can’t fault Flames fans for hoping history repeats itself.

After missing the first half of the 2016-17 season, Huberdeau shot out of the gate like a cannon when he eventually returned to the Florida Panthers lineup, scoring the game-winner in his season debut against the Ducks as part of a four-game point streak that saw him amass three goals and seven points.

To put his durability into perpsective, Saturday’s opponents - the Vegas Golden Knights - had yet to play their inaugural game when Huberdeau was last sidelined for five or more games in a row.

Having him back here in Sin City might just be an ace up the sleeve for head coach Ryan Huska, as his group looks to avenge Tuesday’s loss to Vegas here on Saturday.

“Really good,” the head coach said when asked how nice it was to once again have Huberdeau at his disposal. “I mean, he's a key player for us in a lot of different ways, so having him back in the lineup will be a big thing for our group.”

And the hope is, too, that Huberdeau and Kadri will pick up where they left off.

The two showed some real flair a season ago, combining for 63 goals, while the addition of Farabee on the right side could bring an extra layer of sandpaper to a trio Huberdeau is optimistic could hit the ice running, so to speak.

“I think we’ve got great chemistry, it’s going to be good to be back with him,” he said of being reunited with Kadri. “I think Beezer’s been playing really well since the beginning of the year as well.

“He’s a guy that works really hard and I think he’s going to create some room for me and Naz.”

“Joel has at the start of the year for him, he's been one of our harder working players consistently night in, night out, and he's always been around the net,” Huska added. “And that's one thing I think he's taken to heart this year is getting himself to the front of the net. He hasn't been rewarded yet, but I do feel like with the way he's playing and how committed he is to getting to that, they're going to come for him.

“And now when you have someone like Huberdeau and Naz, that combination back together again, the pucks are gonna get there, and they need to have a guy that's gonna be hungry around that net front, so our hope is that Joel's gonna be that for us.”

Huberdeau’s return might just be the key to unlocking some offensive finish, both at even strength and on the powerplay.

According to Natural Stat Trick, the Flames rank 14th in the NHL in high-danger chances generated across all situations; despite scoring just nine goals over their first five games of the season, the opportunities have been there.

Huberdeau’s nose for the net - his willingness to crash the crease on the powerplay - might help.

“(He has) poise on the puck, he's very good at the net front now in regards to getting in front of goaltenders, but also making plays off the goal line,” Huska said. “So you watch what Vegas does on their powerplay, and a lot of it is because of the way (Mark) Stone is on the goal line.

“Huberdeau has the same ability to make plays down there for us.”

With 782 career points - 247 of which have been scored on the powerplay - it’s clear that more is more for Huberdeau.

Saturday at T-Mobile Arena, he and Kadri will get their first opportunity to re-kindle that old flame.

“We’ve got to get some goals,” said Huberdeau. “We’ve got to capitalize on our chances.

“We want to play in the offensive zone as much as possible.”