Alex Ovechkin and the league-leading Washington Capitals will strive to keep their runaway-train momentum going when they play host to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.
Capped by a 7-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, the Capitals scored 15 goals in a pair of outings over the weekend and have racked up 37 tallies in their last seven games.
Against the Oilers, Ovechkin notched his 32nd career hat trick. That pushed him to 882 career goals and left him 13 away from breaking the NHL record held by Wayne Gretzky.
“Whenever he gets a goal or two, I’ve never seen a guy so hungry,” forward Tom Wilson said. “Some guys score and they (think), ‘OK, I had a good night.’ He comes back to the bench, he’s asking if he can go out again like right away. It’s pretty fun, and it’s been an amazing journey watching him do what he can do.”
Ovechkin’s 135th game-winning goal tied him with Jaromir Jagr for the most in league history. With 29 goals in 41 appearances this season and 25 regular-season games remaining on the Caps’ schedule, he is on pace to break Gretzky’s mark this season.
“Game by game,” Ovechkin said. “Yeah, (Sunday) I have pretty good chances to score more, but I’ll take three.”
As a team, the Capitals appear unstoppable as well. Washington has earned points in eight consecutive games (5-0-3) and is on a 14-1-6 tear that started on New Year’s Eve. The Capitals also have posted an 11-0-5 mark in their last 16 home games, which makes tonight’s game an opportunity to tie the franchise’s longest home-ice point streak set in the 2016-17 campaign (16-0-1).
The Flames are kicking off a six-game road trip that ends the night before the NHL trade deadline and has the potential to make or break their season.
After facing the Capitals, Calgary will play the two Florida teams, the Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers and Dallas Stars in a difficult trip. The Flames sit one point back of the final Western Conference wild-card spot held by the Vancouver Canucks with a game in hand.
“When you go into those buildings, you’ve got to play to your identity but you’ve got to up the ante a little bit,” forward Nazem Kadri said. “We’re playing some great teams, but what better way to face a challenge.”
It was not a pretty win, but the Flames returned from the break by eking out a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday. Kadri scored once and added an assist to run his point streak to six games. Joel Hanley scored his first career game-winning goal — in his 221st outing.
“It felt unreal,” said Hanley, a defenseman who scored his first goal of the season and fourth of his career. “It was great. Obviously, I don’t score a lot, so whenever I can contribute offensively it feels really good. It was nice to get the win.”
The Flames, who lost to Washington 3-1 last month in their first meeting of the season, are well aware they were far from their best against the cellar-dwelling Sharks and must find a new level on this trip.
“Found a way. That was really what it was all about,” Kadri said. “I don’t think it was our best game at all. I think the execution was a little bit sloppy, but we found a way and dug in.”
–Field Level Media
