The Calgary Flames (27-21-8) begin a season-defining road trip in Washington, DC, on Tuesday night. They will face one of the NHL’s top teams, the Capitals, and their premier goal scorer, Alex Ovechkin.
It’s only been a few weeks since these two teams met at the Saddledome on Jan. 28, with Washington walking away with a 3-1 victory and Ovechkin held off the scoresheet.
Since returning from the 4 Nations Face-off, the Capitals have dominated their opponents, defeating Pittsburgh 8-3 and Edmonton 7-3.
Meanwhile, the Flames have only played once, against San Jose, picking up a 3-2 win on Sunday night.
Calgary is 4-5-1 in its last ten games and scored a power-play goal in eight. Moreover, Dustin Wolf has started in eight of the last ten and has taken over the starter duties down the stretch but will not play tonight.
The Capitals enter the game going 6-1-3 in their last ten, outscoring opponents 44-30 as Ovechkin inches closer to Wayne Gretzky’s record, needing only 16 more goals.
Between the Pipes
Calgary starter – Dan Vladar
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Season: 22 GP / 7-10-5 / 3.07 GAA / .888 SV%
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Career: 97 GP / 44-33-15 / 3.07 GAA / .892 SV%
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Last 5: 1-4-0 / 3.00 GAA / .896 SV%
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vs. Opponent: 2-2-0 / 4.23 GAA / 0.850 SV%
Washington starter – Logan Thompson
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Season: 32 GP / 25-2-5 / 2.25 GAA / .920 SV%
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Career: 135 GP / 81-34-16 / 2.57 GAA / .914 SV%
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Last 5: 3-0-2 / 3.20 GAA / .897 SV%
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vs. Opponent: 4-2-0 / 2.39 GAA / .932 SV%
Conversation Starters
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The Capitals have scored 15 goals in their past two games, and the Flames average just 2.64 goals per game. The last time these two met, Calgary scored only one. After a win on Sunday, can they slow down one of the NHL’s hottest teams, even for one night?
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The Flames begin their six-game road trip on Tuesday. A victory against the Capitals would set a tone for the next week and a half, so who is going to step up and have a moment in one of the team’s more crucial games this late into the season?
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Two unlikely heroes, Kevin Rooney and Joel Hanley, had monumental goals for Calgary a few nights ago. Does anyone else on lengthy goal droughts, like Martin Pospisil (nine games), Mikael Backland (ten games), or Ryan Lomberg (24 games) have the same magic in their sticks?
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Finally, tonight will mark the first time Rasmus Andersson and Tom Wilson share the…