The red hot Washington Capitals are back in action on Sunday night. Tonight they’ll host the Calgary Flames where they’ll hope to sweep the season series.
A few weeks ago, the Washington Capitals defeated the Calgary Flames 5-3 on the road back on October 22. In that contest John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin each lit the lamp twice while Chandler Stephenson notched his first goal of the season.
The Capitals carry a 40-43-13-2 all-time record against the Flames, a series that’s almost evenly matched mins some of the overtime contests. The Flames come into Sunday’s game with an 8-6-2 record for 18 points, sitting in second place in the wild card behind the Vegas Golden Knights.
One player to watch tonight is Alex Ovechkin, who will suit up in his 1,100th NHL game. He’ll become the first player from his 2004 draft class to reach this mark as well as the fifth Russian. No other player from Ovechkin’s draft class has reached 1,000 games, something Ovechkin achieved two seasons ago.
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Ovechkin has 11 goals this season which ties him for third in the NHL. He has also shared the puck, recording three assists in Washington’s last two games bringing up his assist total to eight. He’s on pace to reach the 40-assist mark for the seventh time and the first since the 2010-11 season.
The Capitals were the lone team to defeat the Flames in regulation on their home ice. Calgary is 4-5-1 on the road. Three players are tied for the team lead in points with 14 in Johnny Gaudreau, Elias Lindholm, and Matthew Tkachuk while Lindholm leads with nine goals.
Another player to watch is John Carlson, who’s tied for third in the NHL with 23 points after a hot October. He needs just one point to pass Kevin Hatcher (426) for the third most points in franchise history by a defenseman.
The Capitals are coming off a huge win over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night 6-1 to begin the month of November. Jakub Vrana scored two goals for his first multi-goal game of the season and fifth of his career. Chandler Stephenson scored his second goal of the season and Brendan Leipsic added his first as a member of the Capitals.
Later in the game Tom Wilson notched his fifth goal of the season and T.J. Oshie added his eighth. Braden Holtby stopped 29-of-30 shots in the win.
The Capitals have held the lead for 441:39 this season, the second longest lead time in the NHL.