Flames look for a bounce-back outing against Ovechkin and company
The Calgary Flames were ripped apart by the Pittsburgh Penguins’ cavalcade of stars in Saturday’s 5-2 loss to kick off their five-game road swing.
The Washington Capitals, who opened the season with a 4-0 loss to the Penguins on Friday, offer a very similar challenge when the clubs meet Monday night in the U.S. Capital.
While Alex Ovechkin chases Wayne Gretzky as the NHL’s all-time goals leader (he is at 822 career goals and needs 73 to pass Gretzky’s mark of 894) — essentially the biggest reason to follow this team — his impact against the Flames can not be overlooked.
In 23 career clashes against Calgary, Ovechkin has netted 15 goals and 31 points. He is also looking for his 300th career power-play goal.
While the Capitals don’t have the star depth of the Penguins for the Flames to contend with, Calgary still must be well aware of controlling the play to keep Ovechkin and company in check.
Here are other notes heading into puck drop:
The Flames had an optional morning skate in Washington. Here are the way the lines started in Pittsburgh:
Forwards:
Jonathan Huberdeau-Elias Lindholm-Andrew Mangiapane
Adam Ruzicka-Nazem Kadri-Dillon Dube
Blake Colema-Mikael Backlund-Matt Coronato
AJ Greer-Yegor Sharangovich-Walker Duehr
Extra: Dryden Hunt
Defense:
Noah Hanifin-Rasmus Andersson
Nikita Zadorov-MacKenzie Weegar
Dennis Gilbert-Chris Tanev
Extra: Jordan Oesterle
Goal:
Jacob Markstrom
Dan Vladar
That said, it wouldn't be a shock if Dan Vladar starts in goal tonight. Jacob Markstrom has a career 1-8-1 record with a 3.20 goals-against average and .896 save percentage
Here is Washington’s expected lineup:
Forwards:
Alex Ovechkin-Nicklas Backstrom-TJ Oshie
Connor McMichael-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson
Sonny Milano-Dylan Strome-Matthew Phillips
Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Aliaksei Protas
Extra: Anthony Mantha
Defense:
Rasmus Sandin-John Carlson
Martin Fehervary-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Alexander Alexeyev-Nick Jensen
Extra: Lucas Johansen
Goal:
Darcy Kuemper
Back-up netminder Charlie Lindgren was injured during the morning skate.
Facing Phillips
Matthew Phillips, Calgary’s 2016 sixth-round draft pick, is certainly getting an opportunity he never had with his hometown team. Phillips, who was an AHL standout and netted 36 goals and 76 points last season for the Wranglers before leaving via free agency, earned a spot with the Capitals. He logged 11:21 of ice time in the season opener and collected one shot on goal.
The Flames connections do not end there, with three of Washington’s assistants holding ties. Mitch Love was the AHL bench boss the past two seasons, Kurt Muller was Calgary's associate coach under Darryl Sutter the past two seasons and Scott Allen was an assistant with Calgary’s AHL affiliate for four seasons when the team was in Omaha and Quad Cities.
Formidable Kuemper
Against Calgary, Capitals starting goalie Darcy Kuemper has a career record of 7-2-1 with a 1.71 goals-against average, a .951 save percentage and four shutouts, including a 32-save performance last time the Flames visited Washington.
ICE CHIPS: The Flames have a 4-5-1 in their last 10 visits to Washington, with three over those wins coming in extra time … Calgary needs Nazem Kadri to break out. In the first two games, he’s been held without a point while registering four shots on goal and a minus-3 rating. Funny enough, he may have been the club’s best player in the pre-season.
Here's a link to the Capitals coverage from our Hockey News teammate in Washington