(Appropriately enough, the original size of this image was 666×700.)

Get ready for a SCARY amount of Halloween puns.

The Washington Capitals have rolled into town, and with them comes the very real threat that they’re going to put up a TERRIFYING number of goals.

It’s not so much the first and second periods that are particularly HORRIBLE for the Flames, but that last one has given them a HELL of a time recently. In the third periods of the last two games, Calgary has been outscored 5-1 and looked positively MONSTROUS in doing so against two teams that aren’t exactly overflowing with offense.

The fact is, Calgary doesn’t know how to BURY its competition, and against a team with firepower like Washington, that could be a KILLER. Especially in the last period, where it is tied for, well, third in the league with 12 goals in 10 games. It has that many in the first two periods combined. Meanwhile, Calgary has conceded more goals than that in its 10 third periods, with, appropriately for tonight, 13. That’s tied for worst in the league with Atlanta and the Rangers, though New York has allowed that many in just nine contests.

Worse, Calgary’s offense has been driven by its secondary scoring far more than its stars, who have been absolute GHOSTS for awhile, as Brent Sutter pointed out angrily the other night. Meanwhile, Robyn Regehr and Ian White were a combined minus-6 in these last two games.

And now we’re counting on them to put up a fight against Ovechkin, Semin, Backstrom, Laich, and so forth. That could be GHASTLY news if the current trends continue.

On the other hand, Brent Sutter’s words likely did not fall on DEAD deaf ears. Calgary should be amped up and ready to go tonight. This is the end of the Caps’ three-game road trip, and they’ve gone from Carolina to Minnesota to Calgary since Wednesday. They could be DEAD — there we go — tired, and that may work to the Flames’ advantage.

Let’s just hope tonight doesn’t SUCK (your blood?).