Preview: Calgary Flames @ Washington Capitals 11/20/17 (20/82): The Flames Go For Two In A Row

Calgary Flames @ Washington Capitals, 5 PM MT, Capitol One Arena, Washington DC

The Flames head to Washington DC tonight to take on the Washington Capitals in their final meeting of the regular season. The Flames will get a much needed boost as Matthew Tkachuk will return to the Flames lineup after serving his one game suspension for his game misconduct for “spearing” against the Red Wings. The Flames are 2 games into a 6 game road trip and they’re an even 1-1-0 after winning in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon. Despite the lack of goals in the Detroit contest, the Flames have started to find the back of the net with some regularity. In their last 4 wins the Flames have 21 goals and the top line is doing the majority of the work. Johnny Gaudreau has a goal in 5 straight games and points in 13 of his last 14. Micheal Ferland had his goal streak snapped at 5 straight on Sunday, but he has points in 10 of his last 11. And who can forget Sean Monahan. Mony had a PP hat trick in the second period, giving him points in 7 of his last 9 games.

The Capitals have turned it on since losing to the Flames 2-1 back on October 29th. They have gone 6-3-0 with Braden Holtby going 6-1-0 over that period. The Caps backstop has allowed 3 goals or less 6 times in those 7 games, with a 6-3 loss to Nashville being his only clunker. Between Smith and Holtby this should be a goaltending clinic, but the Flames have struggled when visiting Washington. The Caps are 7-3-0 in their last 10 times hosting the Flames.

What’s Happening With The Opposition?

Last Time Out

Calgary Flames 5 Philadelphia Flyers 4 (OT)

The Flames had an early tilt with the Flyers on Saturday and it looked like it was going to be another long skate for the Flames. Calgary fell behind 3-1 early, but hung in and battled back thanks to Sean Monahan’s second period PP hat trick and Calgary got a 5-4 victory in overtime. Here’s our recap and the highlights from NHL.com

Washington Capitals 3 Minnesota Wild 1

The Capitals snapped a 2 game losing skid by beating the visiting Minnesota Wild 3-1 Saturday night. Braden Holtby stopped 30 of the 31 shots he faced and T.J. Oshie paced the offence with a goal and an assist. Japers’ Rink has the recap and NHL.com provides the highlights.

Players To Watch

Calgary Flames

Sean Monahan (C). Is Sean Monahan about to break out on a goal scoring spree? He was responsible for getting the Flames back into the game Saturday with his 2nd period hat trick (the first of his career) and those 3 goals snapped a 4 game goal scoring drought for the young centre. One of Sean Monahan’s team leading 11 goals came in the Flames 2-1 win over Washington back in October.

Washington Capitals

Evgeny Kuznetsov (C). The Russian native has points in 3 straight, including a 2 point effort in the Washington’s 3-1 win over the Wild. He’s put 16 shots on goal in his last 5 and in 9 home games he has 9 points. He was held off the score sheet in the only meeting between the Capitals and Flames this season.

by Mark Parkinson