The Flames' performance thus far is causing an uproar from fans, the Kings are off to an amazing start, and the Ducks are using a popular NBA rest tactic on their young star, writes Adam Proteau.

This is Screen Shots, an ongoing THN.com feature in which we examine a few different hockey topics, and analyze them in a handful of paragraphs. As always, we’ll keep the introductory paragraph short and to the point. Let’s get to it:

Flames Struggle Out the Gate

The Calgary Flames fell to the St. Louis Blues by a 3-0 score at home Thursday, dropping their record this season to an ugly 2-5-1 mark. This was supposed to be their bounce-back year after a disastrous 2022-23 season – featuring a new coach in Ryan Huska, a new GM in Craig Conroy and a new-look lineup, but they’ve now lost four games in a row and have sunk to sixth place in the rather weak Pacific Division. After their loss to the Blues, Huska said his team deserved the boos they received from Flames fans, and defenseman Nikita Zadorov apologized to fans, saying the team “played like s***."

The Flames’ six defeats have come relatively easily for their opponents. Five of their losses have been by at least two goals, while all of their past four losses have come in regulation time, and they’ve been outscored 15-4 in those four games. This speaks to the all-around lack of competitiveness by Calgary, and it is a worrisome sign of what’s to come. It is still early enough for them to turn their season around, but let’s keep in mind they’ve now played approximately 10 percent of their season, and that’s a significant amount of time.

The Flames will be in the spotlight Sunday at the outdoor Heritage Classic. Their opponents and arch-rivals in Edmonton are similarly desperate after a terrible start to the season, and a loss to the Oilers would put up more red flags (and not good, Flames red flags) than Calgary has already raised this year. There are no excuses for the roster anymore. With a new management team and a tweaked lineup, the Flames will be exposed, one way or another, for the team they really are. And if they’re simply not a good team, rumored extensions for star forward Elias Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin will be seen as rewarding mediocrity – or worse.

Kings Off to a Hot Start

At the other end of the win/loss spectrum, the Los Angeles Kings are picking up steam in the standings, with victories in three of their past four games. And the chief reason why they’re playing so well is a mighty offense that’s better than any other NHL team. Indeed, the Kings are the league's top team on offense, averaging 4.5 goals-for per game, and in those past four games, the Kings outscored their opponents 20-14.

It’s not just one or two players that are driving L.A.’s dynamic offense either. Ten of their top-12 forwards have at least three points, and five of their top six defensemen have at least two points. The Kings can hurt you in a hurry, and scoring at least five goals in each of their past three wins demonstrates how dangerous they can be.

Los Angeles may not be the No. 1 team on offense by season's end, but the results from their recent hot streak are the reason why many of us (this writer included) were so optimistic about L.A.'s chances this season. Relatively quietly, GM Rob Blake has built an extremely well-balanced group, and so long as their goaltending holds up, the Kings are going to be a leviathan with the puck.

Ducks Utilizing Load Management

Finally, it was noteworthy that the Anaheim Ducks recently made public their plan for load management of 2023 first-round draft pick Leo Carlsson. They didn’t call it “load management”, but Ducks coach Greg Cronin and Carlsson’s agent, Matt Keator, both have spoken about their comfort level with sitting out Carlsson at points this season. Carlsson has appeared in three of Anaheim’s first seven games, posting two goals and three points to begin his NHL career, but at age 18, he’s in no rush to put himself through the punishing grind of a full season.

With his treatment of Carlsson thus far, Ducks GM Pat Verbeek is making it clear with his youngsters that the team has a long road ahead of it to get back to being a regular playoff-worthy group, and there’s no need to play someone every game simply because they’re a highly-touted asset. Easing key components into their role with Anaheim is smart business from Verbeek, and players like Carlsson are going to be better because of it.