'LOT OF GREAT CHEMISTRY'

For years, the two stars have been joined at the hip.
Now, thanks to an overdue, off-season repair job, Johnny Gaudreau's longtime running mate is feeling better about his than he has in a long time.
"It was obviously really frustrating," Sean Monahan said Thursday of a nagging hip injury that developed around the sixth game of last year. "You want to be healthy when you're playing, you want to be at the top of your game every night - and when there's something limiting that, it gets to you.

"If you're dressing and you're playing, you can't really pull out excuses. So, it is what it is. But an injury like that, it's something you have to deal with mentally (when) you can't do what you want to do on the ice."
The answer was prototypical Monahan.
He owns it.
He played through the pain. Never missed a practice. Kept his affliction completely under wraps while having every excuse not to.
But as one of the ultimate team guys, he never the let the distraction creep into the room.
"I could tell throughout the year that he was playing through some pain there," Gaudreau said. "He wants to be on the ice winning games and it was tough to watch him battle through something like that.
"But it's great to see him healthy and looking for a big year."

If all goes to plan, they'll do it together.
The long-running 'Johnny and Mony Show' was brought back on the airwaves Thursday as the Flames opened Training Camp at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
And, as they have for so many years around these parts, No. 13 and 23 teamed up and were sniping at will, with Andrew Mangiapane riding shotgun for the first time.
Over the past few years, Gaudreau and Monahan have had a rotating cast of wingers. Elias Lindholm, most recently, was an excellent fit for the team's pennant-winning 2018-19 season. But as the Flames evolved and Lindholm moved back into the middle (and is now driving his own line), finding a replacement hasn't been easy.
Mangiapane - who is coming off a new high-water mark in goals and points per game last year - could be that guy.
"Mangy's a real smart player and this will be a huge year for him," Monahan said. "He's got the confidence, he can carry pucks, he protects pucks, he plays well on both ends of the (ice), and he's fun to play with.
"That's something that could potentially be really good.
"Coaches are obviously going to try different (things) for different lines, but it's tough now. You don't want just one line that's top heavy. You want depth throughout the lineup and right now, obviously, with the lineup that's there, it looks pretty good."
Whether it's Mangiapane or someone else is camp training camp progresses, Gaudreau is eager to have one thing: Stability.
It's the only way to create chemistry.
"We had Lindholm for a year, we had (Micheal) Ferland for about a year and we had (Jiri) Hudler for about a year," Gaudreau said. "I know where Mony's at all the time on the ice, so I love playing with Mony. That's awesome. But when we find someone that can work with us, that would be helpful.
"It will be nice to try and find a guy that can stick with us and we can play a good month, two months with and really create some chemistry."
Whoever it ends up being, one thing remains abundantly clear: Gaudreau and Monahan are one of the most prolific duos in the game and promise to put up colossal numbers again this year at the 'Dome.
"I walked in, saw the lines and that we were playing together," Gaudreau said. "It felt like Year 1. He was on my line right there from the start.
"Obviously, we have a lot of great chemistry. I love playing with him. If that's the way we're going to stay, we'll be very happy about that.
"We've always had success together."