Few players in the NHL can match the star power of Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin.
Fans at Verizon Center saw a pair on Sunday in Pittsburgh centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Tonight, they’ll see another when right wing Jarome Iginla and the Calgary Flames pay a rare visit to D.C.
With the Caps in desperate need of a victory after a pair of heartbreaking losses over the weekend, they’ll have to beat a Calgary team that is 9-3-2 in its last 14 games and has taken over sole possession of first place in the NHL’s Northwest Division.
“We put pressure on ourselves every day to win. We’ve tried to put a certain amount of pressure ever since I’ve been here,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau, who took over for the fired Glen Hanlon on Thanksgiving Day. “Not only is our goal still the same, but in our heads, what the guys know, is the amount of points and wins we need [to reach the playoffs] are still the same.”
With just 12 games left the Caps (32-30-8, 72 points) trail Carolina (37-29-5, 79 points) by seven points for the Southeast Division crown. The Caps also trailed Philadelphia (35-26-8, 78 points) by six points for the No. 8 seed prior to the Flyers game last night with Toronto. But rebounding won’t be easy against the streaking Flames.
Iginla, 30, is third in the NHL in points with 41 goals and 41 assists. He trails only Ovechkin (54 goals, 41 assists) and Malkin (38 goals, 54 assists) in that category. During Monday’s 7-3 thrashing of St. Louis, Iginla became the all-time leading goal scorer in Calgary’s franchise history when he notched No. 365. He is also tied with Ovechkin for first in the league with nine game-winning goals.
So the Caps’ top priorities tonight are containing Iginla — who has six points in Calgary’s last four games — and putting those devastating losses to Pittsburgh and Boston behind them as quickly as possible. Easier said then done. But at this point they have no choice.
“As a professional athlete I don’t think those [losses] linger in your mind, too often,” Boudreau said. “You have too many games and too many other great things to look forward to. Now, we just look forward to the success that we’re going to have on Wednesday — hopefully.”
