The Washington Capitals had a wonderful weekend in Tampa Bay as they tamed the Lightning with a 5-3 victory.  T.J. Oshie had a hattrick in the game, and Andre Burakovsky played a strong game in his return from injury.  The Capitals are in a dog fight with their Metropolitan Division rivals Columbus and Pittsburgh.  One point separates these 3 clubs from the top spot in the Division.  The Capitals will now have some home cooking at the right time, as they will spend this week at home for 3 games.  The first game of the 3-game homestand will be against the Calgary Flames.  Puck drop is at 7 PM ET on CSN.

CALGARY FLAMES
Once down in the dumps earlier this season, the Flames have gotten hot the past few weeks.  They have won 7 out of 8 games in March, and have some quality wins over teams like Pittsburgh and Montreal.

The Flames currently sit in fourth in the Pacific Division behind San Jose, Anaheim, and Edmonton.  Only 5 points separates these four clubs.

While he started slow, Johnny Gaudreau has heated up at the right time for the Flames.  He has 16 goals and 52 points in 62 games.  Gaudreau, 23, is one of the tiniest players one will see on the ice, but he is one of the quickest players.

The Flames are a young team and still building, but they have a bright future ahead.  Their core group that consists of Sean Monahan, Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, and Sam Bennett are all 25-years of age or younger.

On special teams, the Flames powerplay is in the middle of the pack.  The Flames are 19.6% effective on the powerplay, which ranks them 14^th in the NHL.  The Flames are also in the middle of the pack on the penalty kill.  They are 81.3% effective on the penalty kill, which is also ranked 14^th in the NHL.

WASHINGTON CAPITALS
The Capitals played against a desperate Tampa Bay club, and were victorious.  The next 3 home games are critical for the Capitals.  The Flames are one of the hottest clubs in the NHL right now, and they have plenty of firepower to keep pace with the Capitals.

Marcus Johansson left the Tampa game early due to an illness, but it looks like he will be good to go against the Flames.

Marcus Johansson is on the ice for practice, so whatever “flu bug” he had on Saturday has passed, it seems.

— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) March 20, 2017

Brooks Orpik took a maintenance day on Monday, but it looks like he will also be good to go against the Flames.

Trotz said Orpik is “probable” for tomorrow. Got banged up a bit vs. Tampa Bay.

— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) March 20, 2017

T.J. Oshie had the hot hand in Tampa on Saturday night, but Andre Burakovsky had a great game in his return.  Burakovsky had 7 shots on goal and 1 assist in the game.

On special teams, the Capitals are doing well.  The Capitals powerplay is 21.4% effective, which is ranked 8^th best in the NHL.  The Capitals penalty kill has also performed well.  The Capitals penalty kill is 83.7% effective, which is also ranked 8^th best in the NHL.

The Capitals are celebrating fan appreciation week this week.  On Tuesday night at Verizon Center, the Capitals are giving away Braden Holtby bobbleheads.

Pretty cool that @Capitals fans get to take this @Holts170 #BobbleBeast home tomorrow! @tom_wilso‘s reaction = priceless. #NHLNow pic.twitter.com/tWKLkLKQu4

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) March 20, 2017

The Holtbeast is looking sharp in bobble-form.  Wait a minute, where is his fedora?

METROPOLITAN DIVISION STANDINGS

A LOOK BACK IN TIME
The last time the Capitals and Flames met was way back on October 30, 2016.  The Capitals defeated the Flames 3-1 in that game, as Brett Connolly scored his first goal as a Washington Capital.  Marcus Johansson scored 2 goals in this game.

SHAVINGS

#Caps host #Flames Tuesday in DC. The @NHLFlames beat #LAKings 5-2 Sunday and are 12-1-0 since Feb.21. Brian Elliott 11-0 over that stretch

— Ben Raby (@BenRaby31) March 20, 2017

GAME LINKS
Daniel Winnik calls current playoff format “the stupidest thing ever” (J.J. Regan/CSN Mid-Atlantic)
Game Notes vs. Calgary, 3/21/17 (Capitals PR)
Caps Host Calgary to Start Homestand (Mike Vogel)

By: George Foussekis