WASHINGTON – Ice bags strapped to his ankle and upper thigh, Rasmus Andersson stood in front of the media like he did in front of Alex Ovechkin’s slappers all night.
With six of his eight blocked shots coming at the expense of the man chasing hockey history, Andersson’s painful evening was symbolic of just how hard things are about to get for the Calgary Flames.
Kicking off a daunting six-game road trip in a rink the hosts hadn’t lost in regulation in 16 outings, the Flames exhibited a grit that led to one of their most improbable and impressive wins of the season.
And they did it under the glare of a tight playoff race, not to mention Ovechkin’s monumental pursuit.
“He’s on a great chase and you’ve got to eat a few,” shrugged the Flames defender following a 3-1 win that saw his club block 30 shots.
“It’s just the way the game went. Now it feels good.”
Had to feel incredible for a team presented with what Nazem Kadri called an “opportunity to go into some tough buildings, get some wins and maybe have some people look at you a little bit differently.”
One game in, the lens through which people look at this club had to have changed somewhat.
That’s how big this win was.
Perhaps the only thing more surprising than handing the Capitals their second regulation loss of 2025 was the starting goaltender largely responsible for limiting Ovechkin to just one goal: Dan Vladar.
Scarcely used over the last two months, Vladar was given the starting nod based on his history against the Caps, and the desire to keep Dustin Wolf as fresh as possible.
With just one win since mid-December under his belt, it was a risky move.
However, when the dust settled on an evening that saw ol’ Ovie blast away with 19 shot attempts, it was Vladar beaming over a 26-save win.
“It’s gonna be a story for my kids one day that a player like that scored on me, but obviously, at that moment, you don’t appreciate it,” said Vladar, beaten only by a power-play slapper from Ovechkin’s office to move within 12 goals of surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s coveted goal scoring record.
“I’m happy we just play twice against them.”
Happy only begins to describe how proud Vladar and his teammates were after a statement win that catapulted them over Vancouver for the final wild-card spot in the West.
“We just beat the first-place team in the league, so we’re going to be proud, but only until midnight tonight,” said Vladar, well aware Andersson’s shot-blocking will come at the expense of a steep dinner tab.
“We know it is a really tough trip for us.”
Next up, Tampa, where there’s a good chance Ryan Huska will once again open the game by rewarding his fourth line with a starting assignment.
Following a tremendous outing against San Jose two nights earlier, Martin Pospisil, Kevin Rooney and Ryan Lomberg were tapped to open the game against Ovechkin’s line. Their opening shift set the tone for the team’s best first period of the season, which saw them lead 2-0 on goals from Pospisil and Matt Coronato, while outshooting the hosts 14-5.
Rolling all four lines throughout the evening, the Flames kept steady pressure on the Caps with a defensive style the Flames will need to employ to preserve the one-point lead they now have on the Canucks.
Things could easily have changed early in the third when Ovechkin’s 30th of the season brought the crowd at Capital One Arena back to life. It marked the 19th time in his career he’s hit that mark.
Given the Caps had scored 15 goals over their previous two outings, tense moments ensued.
However, several timely saves by Vladar opened the door for Jonathan Huberdeau to bang in an insurance marker with five minutes left, eliciting a roar from the bench.
Wins don’t come any bigger than these for a team trying to prove to itself, and others, that it belongs amongst the West’s top eight.
And to do it as an opener against a murderer’s row of Cup contenders on this road trip was, well, somewhat unexpected.
“I think it matters,” said Huska when asked about the significance of opening their trip with an emotional win like this.
“This is a tough place to play and finding a way to get two points out of here is a big thing.”
