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Jumping the gun on a condensed three-on-three drill that featured nets at both blue-lines, Johnny Gaudreau was welcomed back to the team Tuesday by being playfully chastised by coach Glen Gulutzan.

“Whoa, Johnny,” laughed Gulutzan as he sent Gaudreau back to the bench to wait for a whistle to start the race to the puck. “It’s not an all-star game here, we’ve got different rules.”

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The group got a chuckle out of it before commencing the sort of high skill/high energy exercise Gaudreau thrives on.

Acquitting himself well at the all-star gathering for the third year in a row, the Flames’ 23-year-old superstar returned for his first practice with the team with a jump in his step.

It was a good sign, as every player in the room knows how Gaudreau plays from here on out will go a long way toward determining whether the Flames return to the playoffs following a one-year absence.

He knows it too.

The hope is that following a sub-par first half where, at one point, he sat sixth in team scoring, No. 13 gained confidence from his last handful of days, which included scoring the overtime winner in Ottawa before hanging with the world’s greatest players in Los Angeles.