“It’s awesome”: Ruzicka has been top-six forward Flames desperately needed

If Brad Treliving was exhausting a search for a top-six forward to add to his Calgary Flames roster, he can exhale just a little bit, because Adam Ruzicka has certainly given him some breathing room.

Ruzicka, who was airlifted from healthy scratch duty and dropped onto the Flames’ top line alongside Elias Lindholm and Tyler Toffoli, has been a perfect fit into a lineup that has had Treliving reportedly seeking some help up front.

“He’s got a pretty good opportunity in front of him, so I think he realizes that too,” Flames assistant coach Ryan Huska said postgame on Monday. “I think he wants to be a full-time NHL player and be able to contribute night in and night out. I think that’s the real challenge for him is that he maintains what he’s been able to do.

“That’s up to him. If he continues to push and work the way that he has over this last little while he’s going to continue to get that opportunity.”

So far, so good for the 23-year-old.

Ruzicka, a natural centre, has five points (two goals, three assists) in five games this season. Each has come riding on the left side of the Lindholm-Toffoli combination put together over a week ago when Jonathan Huberdeau sustained an injury.

“I think we’ve got a good thing going on right now,” Ruzicka, who was selected in the fourth round (No. 109) in the 2017 NHL Draft, told Flames TV on Wednesday. “I think we’re still finding chemistry. We’re going to take a couple more games … and then we’ll be there.”

“Every practice, every shift, every game we play together is more and more. It’s awesome.”

The trio, collectively, has combined for six goals and 15 points in four games since being united on November 8; Lindholm has six points (two goals, four assists) and Toffoli has four points (two goals, two assists).

They’ve out-shot opponents 36-13, out-chanced them 30-12, out-high-dangered them 14-5 and out-scored them 4-1. They’ve also scored two power-play goals with him on the ice.

They’ve also out-chanced opponents 26-10, including an 11-4 edge in high-danger opportunities. Overall, the revamped top unit has outshot opponents 33-8, too, according to Natural Stat Trick.

“It feels good,” Lindholm said Monday. “We’re having fun, making plays and scoring some goals. Obviously, Adam’s come in and he’s a good player. He’s still a young kid, but he’s been playing really well. We just try to work hard out there and make plays and good things happen.”

Ruzicka, for his efforts, leads the entire squad in on-ice shot attempt percentage, at 72%, and expected goals percentage at 64.1%, according to MoneyPuck.

Not bad for a forward whose audition on the left side, initially due to a logjam at centre with the additions of pivots Nazem Kadri and Kevin Rooney, was cut short after two periods in training camp.

And a performance to this stage that, perhaps, can have Treliving relax the phone lines a little bit.

For now.

“He’s a really good player,” Toffoli said. “He was in and out of the lineup a little bit and last year as well. I played with him last year. I kind of know what he brings and I think he’s playing really confident hockey right now and just making really good plays.”