FGD 17: The Flames go to Washington (5pm MT, SN West)
By Ryan Pike
4 years agoJust 24 hours after their victory in Columbus, the Calgary Flames (8-6-2, 18 points) are back in action! This time they face a much bigger test in the form of the powerhouse Washington Capitals (10-2-3, 23 points). The Caps ran the Flames’ show in the third period of their meeting in Calgary, and the Flames are hoping to bounce back from that outing and return the favour.
The puck drops at 5 p.m. MT on Sportsnet West and Sportsnet 960 The Fan.
The Flames
Projected lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Gaudreau – Monahan – Lindholm
Mangiapane – Backlund – Tkachuk
Quine – Ryan – Bennett
Rieder – Jankowski – Frolik
Mangiapane – Backlund – Tkachuk
Quine – Ryan – Bennett
Rieder – Jankowski – Frolik
Giordano – Brodie
Hanifin – Hamonic
Kylington – Andersson
Hanifin – Hamonic
Kylington – Andersson
Cam Talbot gets his fourth start of the season, backed up by David Rittich. The projected extras are Michael Stone and Tobias Rieder – pending Milan Lucic’s Player Safety phone call.
Update: Lucic is suspended. Rieder will slot into his spot.
After 15 games of muddling around, the Flames are just starting to resemble the team we thought we’d see after last season’s regular season. They’re starting to put together consistent efforts and it’ll be fascinating to see how they approach a rested Capitals group while playing on the second half of a back to back.
The Flames have captured five of a possible eight points thus far this trip – they’re 2-1-1 – and a point or two here would push this trek definitely into the realm of success.
The Capitals
Last night’s lines, via Daily Faceoff:
Ovechkin – Backstrom – Oshie
Vrana – Kuznetsov – Wilson
Hagelin – Eller – Hathaway
Leipsic – Stephenson – Boyd
Vrana – Kuznetsov – Wilson
Hagelin – Eller – Hathaway
Leipsic – Stephenson – Boyd
Kempny – Carlson
Orlov – Gudas
Siegenthaler – Jensen
Orlov – Gudas
Siegenthaler – Jensen
Ilya Samsonov starts for the Capitals, backed up by Braden Holtby. Their extras are Tyler Lewington and Liam O’Brien.
The Nationals won the World Series last week and the Capitals, recent Stanley Cup champs, gave them celebration pointers. The Capitals are looking quite close to their championship vintage thus far this season, looking equal parts deep, poised and talented throughout this season. They’ve won three of four games since their meeting with the Flames in Calgary.
The Numbers
| Flames | Capitals | |
| Wins | 8 | 10 |
| Points | 18 | 23 |
| Adjusted Corsi | 50.9% | 52.3% |
| Power Play | 16.0% | 25.0% |
| Penalty Kill | 88.1% | 85.7% |
Injury Report
The Flames are without D Juuso Valimaki (ACL surgery) and F Austin Czarnik (lower body).Edit Edit date and time
The Capitals are missing F Nic Dowd (lower body) and F Richard Panik (upper body).
When Last We Met
The Flames lost to Washington at the Saddledome by a 5-3 score back on Oct. 22. This game completes their season series.
Know Thy Enemy
Here are some key Twitter peeps to follow for tonight:
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