The road was not kind to the Calgary Flames.
On a five game road trip playing all Western Conference opponents, the Flames fell four times in regulation and came away with just two of a possible ten points. The rough trip has dropped the team back to the .500 mark after a very promising start to the season.
Now, Calgary is back at home for a three-game home stand starting Saturday night against the Washington Capitals (8 p.m. MST, Sportsnet 960).
The Flames finished their trip Thursday night with a disappointing 5-1 loss to the Dallas Stars. Calgary seemed to be controlling the game after tying it up at one in the second period before the
Stars scored three times in the span of 61 seconds midway through the middle frame. From there on out, the rest of the game was just a formality, with the Flames clearly fatigued at the end of a grueling trip.
Calgary Flames 4-4-2, 6th Pacific Division
Curtis Glencross – Matt Stajan – David Jones
Mike Cammalleri – Mikael Backlund – TJ Galiardi
Sven Baertschi – Sean Monahan – Jiri Hudler
Lance Bouma – Joe Colborne – Tim Jackman
Chris Butler – T.J. Brodie
Kris Russell – Dennis Wideman
Chris Breen – Shane O’Brien
Above is the best guess on Saturday’s lines as the Flames are forced to juggle rather dramatically once again. Calgary will be without Lee Stempniak, who suffered a lower body injury at some point in Dallas on Thursday night. It’s a big loss, as Stempniak has been one of the most consistent Flames this season.
With Stempniak out, head coach Bob Hartley confirms Sven Baertschi will return to the lineup. He was a healthy scratch against the Stars, which surprised a number of people. If the team was hoping to send Baertschi a message, hopefully it’s received the right way.
He’s a player who has admittedly struggled with confidence in the past, so the hope is he’ll be motivated. Baertschi has been good the last few games, so if that continues, he’ll do what he can to keep himself in the lineup.
The news doesn’t sound great on the Mark Giordano front, as the Flames captain will miss his third straight game tonight with a lower body injury. He’s been placed on injured reserve with a lower body injury and the team has recalled Derek Smith from the American Hockey League. Hartley says Smith is a game-time decision tonight, so if he plays it’ll be in place of Breen.
The other game time decision will likely be on the fourth line with one of either Jackman or Brian McGrattan playing against Washington. McGrattan sat for a second straight night in Dallas after playing the first eight games of the season.
Karri Ramo gets the start in net once again, his second consecutive call between the pipes and fourth in five games. While he wasn’t stellar against the Stars, he still seems like the best option in net right now.
Don’t forget, Reto Berra is still very much in the mix as he continues to get the bulk of time with the Abbotsford Heat.
Washington Capitals 5-5-0, 5th Metropolitan Division
Marcus Johansson – Nicklas Backstrom – Alex Ovechkin
Martin Erat – Brooks Laich – Troy Brouwer
Jason Chimera – Mikhail Grabovski – Joel Ward
Aaron Volpatti – Eric Fehr – Tom Wilson
Karl Alzner – John Carlson
Nate Schmidt – Mike Green
John Erskine – Steve Oleksy
It’s been almost three years to the day since the Capitals last visited Calgary, a game in which Washington scored seven unanswered goals to come away with a 7-2 win. That team isn’t overly different from the team that will invade the Saddledome Saturday, as the key figures remain the vital pieces now. Ovechkin had two goals that night, and he’s playing out of his mind right now.
With 10 goals in his first 10 games, Ovechkin leads the NHL in that category while sitting third with 15 points. The guy is unbelievably dangerous on seemingly every shift these days, leading the league with 67 shots, averaging almost seven shots per game. Dating back to last year, Ovechkin has 33 goals in 33 games and shows no signs of slowing down.
The Caps have to be salivating at the matchup against Calgary, knowing their number two rated power play is going up against Calgary’s 29th ranked penalty kill. At 29.7 percent, Washington is trailing only the New York Islanders for the top power play unit in the NHL and are averaging more than a goal per game with the man advantage. With the players they have at their disposal, you can see why.
After a rough start to the season, the Capitals have gotten back to the .500 mark with three straight wins. Saturday’s will be game three of a four-game road trip through western Canada, with a shootout win in Winnipeg and a 4-1 win in Edmonton already under their belts. They’ll conclude the trip with a stop in Vancouver on Monday night before playing in Philadelphia four nights later.
Braden Holtby is expected to start in net for Washington, his 10th start of the season. Holtby got off to a rough start, but has a .935 save percentage over his last five games. Holtby started Washington’s first game against the Flames at the beginning of the month but was pulled early in favour of Michal Neuvirth, who remains the backup for the Capitals.