CALGARY, Alberta -- A week ago at this time things were looking bleak for the Calgary Flames.
Following a 6-4 loss to the St. Louis Blues at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Oct. 22, the Flames had a 1-4-1 record heading into a two-game road trip to Chicago to play the Blackhawks and to St. Louis for a rematch against the Blues.
Thanks to timely scoring and solid goaltending from Brian Elliott, the Flames edged the Blackhawks 3-2 in a shootout before beating the Blues 4-1 and returning home to down the Ottawa Senators 5-2 on Friday.
"I think just recognizing who we are," said Elliott in regard to how the Flames found their rhythm after a woeful start to their season. "I think at the start of the year we didn't really know what kind of team we were and how to play effectively. Now guys are really buying into what we need to do and it's the little things."
The Flames look to stretch their winning streak to four straight games when they host the Washington Capitals (4-2-1) on Sunday night.
Left winger Michael Frolik, who's tied for the team goal-scoring lead with center Sean Monahan at four, said players talked about not changing anything during their winning streak.
"That's what we said in the room too," Frolik said. "We don't need to change anything. We just need to stick to the plan. That's what we did. We could tell ourselves it's working. We just needed to stick with it and build on that and keep it going."
One area of concern for Flames coach Glen Gulutzan is the lack of discipline his team showed against the Senators. Rookie left winger Matthew Tkatchuk and center Sam Bennett took back-to-back offensive zone penalties in the first period that both led to power-play goals for the Senators.
"We've got to stop taking stupid penalties. It's not an epidemic yet, but it's a concern and we're going to nip it," said Gulutzan, who wasn't pleased with his team's effort Friday despite the three-goal victory. "It wasn't our best game. We've got to find a way to be better at home. Starting our games, especially, and a good push."
The Flames also look to have a quick start against the road-weary Capitals, who will be playing their third straight road game and second in as many nights.
Left winger Marcus Johansson had two goals and an assist Saturday night in Vancouver to lead the Capitals to a 5-2 victory over the Canucks.
"When we got the puck deep, I think we showed what we can do," Johansson told reporters after the game. "We created a lot of chances and we make it tough for the other team. It was a good game for us and we need to carry that to the next one."
Right wingers Tom Wilson and T.J. Oshie and defenseman Karl Alzner also scored for the Capitals, who ended their two-game losing streak.
Goalie Philipp Grubauer stopped 23 of 25 shots he faced against the Canucks to improve his record to 2-0, but reigning Vezina Trophy winner Braden Holtby will be back in between the pipes for Washington on Sunday.
"We need a goalie so I've got to use one in each game," said Washington coach Barry Trotz of why he started Grubauer against Vancouver. "It was nothing, it was really just change it up a little bit. Grubby always gets some of the back-to-backs he's played well in his first start so give him something on the front end."
