The Washington Capitals (24-21-6) look to get back on track on Friday night. They continue their Canadian road trip against the Calgary Flames (21-24-5) at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The puck drops at 9:00 p.m. ET.
The Capitals’ six-game road trip continues as they visit Alberta for a weekend set of back-to-backs. They will then head to Edmonton on Saturday night.
The Capitals were just in British Columbia where they fell to league-worst Vancouver 4-3. The team has now lost four consecutive games as their playoff hopes look slim by the minute.
In Wednesday’s loss, the Capitals quickly jumped out to a 2-0 lead as they scored on both ends of a 5-on-3 man advantage. However, Vancouver responded with three goals on the 5-on-5, followed by another tally on a 4-on-4.
By the end, Vancouver won its first game in the calendar year 2026 and ended an 11-game losing skid. The Capitals had a chance to beat the worst team in the NHL and laid an egg.
Through 51 games, this year’s Capitals team is on pace for just 87 points, which won’t be enough for the playoffs. Boston currently holds the second Wild Card spot, and is on pace for 95 points. Additionally, the group of teams between the Capitals and the eighth spot keeps growing.
Three other teams who have also played 51 games – Detroit, Minnesota, and Edmonton – will most likely make it to the playoffs. Aside from the Capitals, the other team is the New York Rangers, who are at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division.
Meanwhile, Calgary is another bottom-tier West team who is just ahead of Vancouver by eight points. If the Capitals drop their fifth straight game against them, this season is already over.
Expected Capitals Lines
Forwards
Connor McMichael – Dylan Strome – Ryan Leonard
Aliaksei Protas – Justin Sourdif – Tom Wilson
Alex Ovechkin – Nic Dowd – Ethen Frank
Brandon Duhaime – Hendrix Lapierre – Anthony Beauvillier
Defensemen
Jakob Chychrun – John Carlson
Martin Fehervary – Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goalie
Logan Thompson
Expected Flames Lines
Forwards
Yegor Sharangovich – Mikael Backlund – Matt Coronato
Martin Pospisil – Nazem Kadri – Matvei Gridin
Jonathan Huberdeau – Morgan Frost – Joel Farabee
Ryan Lomberg – Connor Zary – Adam Klapka
Defensemen
Yan Kuznetsov – Mackenzie Weegar
Kevin Bahl – Zach Whitecloud
Joel Hanley – Brayden Pachal
Goalie
Devin Cooley
How to Watch
TV: Monumental Sports Network
Radio: 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio Network
