An eight-point gap separates the Flames and a playoff position with 15 games remaining
Calgary Flames (33-29-5, 71 points) versus Washington Capitals (32-25-9, 73 points)
Realistically, the Calgary Flames have 30 points up for grabs the rest of the way, and need 26 of them, and some luck, to reach the Stanley Cup playoffs. (Cue the "PLAYOFFS?!?" gifs featuring Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora.)
Is it possible? Sure. Is it likely? Not really. But until the final hopes are exhausted they will keep plugging along with hope. Those odds will increase if the Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights continue to sputter. It would help if the Nashville Predators experienced a crash back to Earth after their torrid 12-0-2 run, but the Flames can control only their games, starting with a home date against Alex Ovechkin and a Washington Capitals team that has won four of six outings and sits one point back of the Detroit Red Wings for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot. (The Red Wings have lost eight of nine in regulation and the Capitals are minus-30 in goals scored/goals against, yet are neck and neck; That says everything about the East’s wild-card chase.)
Back to the Flames. They are coming of Saturday’s 5-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens and have won two straight games, with rookie goaltender Dustin Wolf stopping 64 of 67 shots in those affairs.
The Capitals hit Calgary after winning consecutive 2-1 games over the Seattle Kraken and Vancouver Canucks. They opened a five-game road trip with losses to the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers by a combined 10-2 count. Washington also has two games in hand on the Red Wings. The Capitals are also three points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third spot in the Metropolitan Division, and boasting two games in hand.
Here is Calgary’s expected lineup
Forwards:
Jonathan Huberdeau-Nazem Kadri-Martin Pospisil
Andrew Mangiapane-Mikael Backlund-Blake Coleman
Dryden Hunt-Yegor Sharangovich-Andrei Kuzmenko
A.J. Greer-Kevin Rooney-Matt Coronato
Extras: Connor Zary, Walker Duehr, Jakob Pelletier
Defence:
Oliver Kylington-Rasmus Andersson
MacKenzie Weegar-Daniil Miromanov
Joel Hanley-Brayden Pachal
Extras: Dennis Gilbert, Nikita Okhotiuk
Goal:
Dustin Wolf
Dan Vladar
Wolf has never faced the Capitals. Vladar has a 2-2-0 career mark against Washington with a 4.23 goals-against average and .850 save percentage.
Washington
Forwards:
Alex Ovechkin-Connor McMichael-T.J. Oshie
Ivan Miroshnichenko-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson
Max Pacioretty-Hendrix Lapierre-Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Aliaksei Protas
Defence:
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Nick Jensen
Alexander Alexeyev-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goal:
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
Lindgren’s lone game against Calgary was in a 5-2 Flames win on Dec. 3, 2022. He surrendered two goals on nine shots. Kuemper boasts an 8-2-1 record with four shutouts, along with a 1.72 GAA and .951 SvPct. against Calgary.
ICE CHIPS: For those following Alex Ovechkin’s scoring chase, he has scored 11 goals in 20 games, needs one goal to reach 20 for the 19th time in his career and is 53 behind Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal mark … Since Feb. 8, the Capitals have converted on 17 of 55 power-play opportunities (30.9%). They were 31st in the league before the calendar flipped to 2024 … Calgary’s penalty kill has snuffed all but one short-handed situation in the last seven games (18 of 19) … Over the course of the season, the Capitals have not outscored the opposition in any period.
