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Another bad road trip loss and even more injuries: Flames beat Capitals 5-2

By Chris Cerullo

 3 Comments

December 4, 2022 12:41 am

The Washington Capitals traveled to Alberta for a Saturday night Saddledome showdown with the Calgary Flames. The Caps were looking to get back into the win column after an unfortunate loss in Seattle while the Flames looked to avenge their loss in DC from about a week ago.

Blake Coleman and Conor Sheary traded late first period snipes to keep the game tied after twenty minutes. Andrew Mangiapane restored Calgary’s lead early in the second. Adam Ruzicka broke away from the pack to extend that lead in the third and Mangiapane got his second of the night just moments later.

John Carlson late, garbage time goal. Elias Lindholm empty netter.

Flames beat Capitals 5-2.

  • I don’t have much to say about the first period other than that it was boring as one of these teams is coached on purpose to be boring and the other just is. I’ll let you decide which is which. I did like the switch of Anthony Mantha to the second line but he also immediately fired a good chance right into Dan Vladar’s belly.
  • Conor Sheary has nine goals this season which is second on the team only to Alex Ovechkin. He’s on a 28-goal pace which is awesome for him but the fact that no one else on the team, other than Ovi, is really matching that feels highly concerning.
  • Erik Gustafsson and John Carlson still being paired together is blatant self-sabotage.

  • The Flames went up a goal early in the second period and the Caps did absolutely nothing to come back from that the rest of the frame. They got out-attempted at five-on-five 25 to 9. Two games in a row where they have giant stretches of time basically, barely being in the game. Just so very much not good enough.
  • A team still dealing with a boatload of injuries to key players might be dealing with a couple more. Martin Fehervary took a hit from Milan Lucic and immediately went down the tunnel to the locker room holding his arm in a very concerning way. Darcy Kuemper then left the game and was replaced by Charlie Lindgren after taking an elbow to the grill. Neither returned.
  • Good to see Alex Alexeyev get another game. He didn’t stand out in a good or bad way but it’s rare right now to see a young player get a jersey over a healthy veteran. Double A was really nice to me when I met him and got to chat with him for a bit on the ice at a Caps media day a few years ago.
  • With Gabriel Jesus out for three months, Arsenal has gotta buy a striker in this winter window right? I sure hope so.

  • They did a whole lot of nothing in the third period as well. I think this game was even worse than the one in Seattle. They didn’t have it together offensively or defensively against the Flames. Bad, bad, bad.
  • Someone other than Alex Ovechkin or Conor Sheary needs to start scoring on a consistent basis. The Caps just are not getting enough offense to win hockey games this season. They are in the bottom five teams in terms of goals per game.
  • One win in their last nine on the road.

The Caps will stay in Alberta for their next one as they’ll visit Connor McDavid and the rest of the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.

Headline photo via @KPnhl

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