It may have seemed like a little thing, especially in light of the fact it came in a 4-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

However, the fact that Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan chipped in assists on the Flames lone goal Sunday, scored by linemate Alex Chiasson, was actually a big deal considering it snapped four-game pointless streaks for the Flames top two scoring threats.

In the previous four games Gaudreau was minus-7 and Monahan a minus-6. In fact, Gaudreau's minus-11 is the worst on the team, while Monahan's minus-10 is tied for second worst with TJ Brodie.

It's no wonder then that the Flames find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture at this early juncture of the 2016-17 season. Calgary got off to a rocky start, losing its first three games of the season, and was 1-4-1 in its first six games. The Flames appeared to turn a corner with three straight victories, but have now lost four of their past five, including two in a row.

"Our top guys are not getting it done," Flames president Brian Burke said during a radio interview on Tuesday. "I'm not one for calling players out, but our top guys are not playing up to their level. It's that simple."

Burke added that Gaudreau (contract dispute) and Monahan (sore back) missed training camp and considering the team has a new coach, Glen Gulutzan, the players needed time to be acclimatized to a new system. Burke said that time has passed.

After making the playoffs for the first time in six seasons in 2014-15, the Flames missed the dance again last season despite Geaudreau and Monahan's superb play.

It has been a frustrating start to the year for last season's top two Flames scorers. Gaudreau, the 2013-14 Hobey Baker Award winner with Boston College, has been an instant star with the Flames since his first day in the NHL, scoring 24 goals and 64 points in 80 games as a rookie and improving to 30 goals and 78 points in 79 games last season. It was no surprise then that the diminutive 5-foot-9ish, 157-pound Gaudreau was a key member of Team North America (consisting of players 23 and under) which had a 2-1 record at the World Cup of Hockey in September.

Monahan, who is 6-foot-3 and 197 pounds, was also named to Team North America, but had to withdraw from the event because of a back injury. Like Gaudreau, Monahan has been a scoring stud since joining the Flames as an 18-year-old in 2013-14, but he has been held pointless in nine of Calgary's 14 games.

Lack of shots plaguing scorers

One issue plaguing Gaudreau and Monahan is their lack of shots on goal.

Monahan has been held to two or fewer shots in 11 games this season while Gaudreau has had two or fewer shots in nine games. Obviously there is plenty of time remaining for both players to get hot and improve their numbers – think Sidney Crosby last season – but at their current pace, Gaudreau would complete the season with 12 goals and 47 points. Monahan would be on pace for 23 goals and 29 points. In that case, it would be awfully difficult to imagine the Flames making it back to the playoffs.

Gulutzan has encouraged both players to make sure they do the small things right and that the offence will eventually fall into place.

"When you don't start the way you think you should start, then you start thinking," Gulutzan said. "Sometimes these things happen in the middle of the season, but when they happen early, everyone's on it. You hope one goes in off a shin pad, they make one nice play and that one multi-point game turns into two."