Washington Capitals
Capitals vs. Flames: Tale Of The Tape, Lines & Who To Watch
WASHINGTON — Fresh off a big win over the Philadelphia Flyers and a Thanksgiving practice, the Washington Capitals are right back at it with a Black Friday tilt against the Calgary Flames.
Here’s everything to know going into Friday’s matchup.
Washington Capitals vs. Calgary Flames: Tale Of The Tape
Washington (8-10-3) finally ended a four-game skid back on Wednesday. The club is still dealing with a number of injuries and missing the likes of Nicklas Backstrom, Connor Brown, Dmitry Orlov and more, but T.J. Oshie came back and provided a much-needed spark back on Wednesday. The Capitals sit second-to-last in the Metropolitan Division.
Calgary (7-9-3) hasn’t gotten off to the best start either, but the Flames have turned things around and have won four of their last five games. The team is still welcoming the likes of Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kakri, who are just a couple of stars brought in to replace Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. Calgary sits fourth in the Pacific Division.
Washington Capitals vs. Calgary Flames: Projected Lines
It doesn’t appear that things changed much at Thanksgiving’s practice, as Dmitry Orlov was an extra again and Nicolas Aube-Kubel interchanged with Aliaksei Protas on the fourth line. Don’t expect the club to fix what isn’t broken.
Here’s what the combinations should look like:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Conor Sheary
Sonny Milano-Evgeny Kuznetsov-T.J. Oshie
Marcus Johansson-Lars Eller-Anthony Mantha
Aliaksei Protas-Nic Dowd-Garnet Hathaway
Erik Gustafsson-John Carlson
Martin Fehervary-Nick Jensen
Matt Irwin-Trevor van Riemsdyk
Darcy Kuemper will get the start against the Flames, meaning Charlie Lindgren will likely start the second game of the back to back as Washington faces the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.
Orlov will miss his ninth straight game.
Washington Capitals vs. Calgary Flames: Names To Watch
When it comes to names to watch, look out for Alex Ovechkin, who had the overtime winner on Friday and is 10 goals away from 800. Dylan Strome also has points in three of his last four games, and T.J. Oshie is coming off a two-assist performance.
On the Calgary side, Elias Lindholm leads the club with 16 points in 19 games. Also keep an eye on the usual suspects in Nazem Kadri, Rasmus Andersson, Blake Coleman and Huberdeau.
Washington Capitals vs. Calgary Flames: How To Watch
The game will be broadcast for DMV fans and local residents on NBC Sports Washington, with the puck dropping at 2 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena. Fans can also tune in on the radio at Caps Radio 24/7 (John Walton is back on the call).