5 Things - Flames @ Capitals

1. Last Time Out

After a two-week Four Nations Face-Off break, the Flames returned to action on Sunday when they hosted the San Jose Sharks, claiming a 3-2 victory over their divisional rivals in front of the C of Red.

The Sharks struck first on Sunday, with rookie Macklin Celebrini finding the back of the net in the first period, but Nazem Kadri answered back with the team's 36th powerplay goal of the season at the 7:27 mark of the opening stanza. It was Kadri's 20th goal of the year, marking his fourth straight 20-plus goal season.

Kevin Rooney gave the Flames a lead in the second period, netting his fourth of the year when he was able to backhand a rebound past San Jose netminder Alexandar Georgiev. The play was the result of an excellent shift from Rooney and his linemates, Ryan Lomberg and Martin Pospisil, who provided plenty of jump all evening.

"I thought this was their best game - as a whole - in a long time," head coach Ryan Huska said. "So hopefully that’s something we’ll keep seeing."

Former Flame Tyler Toffoli made it s 2-2 game early in the third period but it was Calgary defenceman Joel Hanley who would play the hero on Sunday night, scoring his first career game-winner at 13:28.

With Mikael Backlund and Ty Dellandrea in the box for coincidental minors, Hanley's 4-on-4 goal came when he was able to snap a shot past the netminder's blocker.

"Felt unreal," Hanley said afterwards. "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."

Dustin Wolf made 27 saves in the victory, giving him 20 wins through 34 games on the season and making him the fifth-fastest American-born goaltender to hit the 20-win mark in their rookie season, behind Frank Brimsek (27 GP in 1938-39), Ryan Miller (28 GP in in 2005-06), Tom Barrasso (31 GP in 1983-84) and Jeremy Swayman (33 GP in 2021-22).

"Wolfie, he made some very, very timely saves," Kadri said when asked about his netminder. "And even though it wasn’t a huge volume, there were some crucial saves that he made, and he stood on his head. He expects that out of himself, he’s done a great job."

The win places the Flames one-point back of the Vancouver Canucks for the second Wild Card spot in the West and five points back of the LA Kings, who sit third in the Pacific Division.

"Found a way," was Kadri's summation. "I mean that’s really what it was all about today. I don’t think it was our best game at all. I think the execution was a little bit sloppy, which could be expected. But we found a way, we dug in. Special teams, 4-on-4, a couple big goals for us."

The win is a perfect springboard for the challenge ahead: the longest road trip of the season, featuring stops in Washington, Tampa, Sunrise, Raleigh, Philadelphia, and Dallas.

2. Know Your Enemy

The Washington Capitals are in the midst of a very strong, sitting first in the NHL with a 38-11-8 record and 84 points on the year.

They're coming off a 7-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, which saw Alex Ovechkin net a hat-trick and pull with 13 goals of Wayne Gretzky's scoring record. Ovechkin now has 882 goals in his career and has scored 200 goals since Jan. 1, 2020, which makes him the first player in league history to net 200 or more goals in three different decades. He potted 245 in the 2000s, scored 437 in the 2010s, and now has 200 in the 2020s.

Ovechkin now has 25 games remaining this season to surpass Gretzky's all-time scoring record of 894 goals.

"I’m telling you, he amazes me night in and night out," Capitals netminder Charlie Lindgren told NHL.com when asked about Ovechkin. "He truly is the best. I’m so thankful that he’s a Washington Capital and to share a locker room with him, it’s been incredible."

Two of Ovechkin's goals came in the second period, coming at key moments in the game.

"The goals he scored tonight were huge goals in the game," head coach Spencer Carbery told WashingtonCapitals.com. "They were massive. Obviously, when you score three, they have a big impact on the game. But the moments when they were scored, the game was highly competitive, as fast a game as we’ve played in, given the circumstances – two teams on a back-to-back coming out of the break – but the pace was high. And so the one goal, and then to get the power-play goal right after that, you could feel it. The guys got fired up on the bench, I can tell you that."

Tom Wilson, Jakob Chychrun, Connor McMichael, and Dylan Strome also scored for the Capitals in Sunday's win. Lindgren made 22 saves.

3. Fast Facts

Today is recent acquistion Joel Farabee's 25th birthday. The American winger, who was a part of the trade between Calgary and Philadelphia earlier this year that also saw Morgan Frost become a member of the Flames, has suited up for 390 NHL games in his career, scoring 91 goals and 202 points. Since joining the Flames, he has one goal through six games.

The Flames have been successful in Tuesday games this season, sporting a 8-4-2 record on the second day of the week in 2024-25.

With an assist on Sunday evening against San Jose, defenceman MacKenzie Weegar extended his assist streak to six games to match his career-high he set during the 2020-21 campaign.

With 20 wins in 34 games on the season, Dustin Wolf is now tied for the eighth-fewest games required to record 20 wins in a season by a Flames goaltender in franchise history:

30 – Mike Vernon (1987-88)

30 – Mike Vernon (1992-93)

31 – Miikka Kiprusoff (2003-04)

31 – David Rittich (2018-19)

32 – Mike Vernon (1988-89)

33 – Mike Vernon (1986-87)

33 – Miikka Kiprusoff (2008-09)

34 – Dustin Wolf (2024-25)

34 – Miika Kiprusoff (2005-06)

4. He's Back

Connor Zary returned to the lineup on Sunday night after missing 14 games with a lower-body injury he suffered in Anaheim in early January. The forward had 16:05 of ice time in the win over the Sharks, playing on a line with Backlund and Blake Coleman, and is looking forward to building off of that outing as the Flames make the push for a playoff spot during this road trip.

"It was the first time I was nervous for a game in a while," Zary told the Flames TV Live desk afterwards. "I think any time you’re out - and coming back - you’re super-excited, you have all (that) excitement and nerves. Those were off after the first couple of shifts. I think just trying to find my feet under me, get my head back to the pace that my feet are going, and all the details back in the game. Definitely just tried to keep my expectations level-headed. I definitely wanted to just get out there, and feel the game, and let it come to me and try and do what I could.

"I think moving forward here, you can start adding a little bit of pressure on yourself to get back to it."

Prior to getting injured, Zary had 10 goals and 22 points through his first 40 games of the season.

5. Players To Watch

Flames - Nazem Kadri

The veteran centre was key in Sunday's win over the Sharks, scoring a goal and picking up two points in the victory while extending his point streak to six games. During that stretch, he has registered three goals and eight points.

Kadri's goal on Sunday was his 20th on the year, which means he has joined Sean Monahan, Daymond Langkow and Rene Bourque as the only players in the previous 30 years to score 20-plus goals in each of their first three seasons with the Flames.

Capitals - Alex Ovechkin

As if there were any doubt.

The 39-year-old continues to hunt down the NHL's all-time goal scoring record and it looks like he's going to do this season, with 25 games remaining on the Capitals schedule and him sitting just 13 goals back of Gretzky's record. He leads all Capitals skaters this season with 29 goals on the year and is fourth in team scoring with 46 points through 41 games. In his last five games, he's potted five goals.