Winning streaks on line as Penguins visit Flames (Mar 13, 2017)
CALGARY, Alberta -- Some players, like left winger Conor Sheary of the Pittsburgh Penguins, keep a close eye on the NHL standings at this time of the season.
Others, like goalie Brian Elliott of the Calgary Flames, choose to do the exact opposite.
Sheary's Penguins (43-16-8) have reeled off five straight victories, while Elliott's Flames (38-26-4) have won nine in a row. One of those streaks will end on Monday night at the Scotiabank Saddledome when Calgary hosts Pittsburgh.
"This is a big portion of the season," said Sheary after registering a goal and an assist to help the Penguins blank the Canucks 3-0 in Vancouver on Saturday. "The last 10 or 15 games here I think is where you gain your ground and the seeding takes place."
Thanks to their winning streak, the Penguins are within striking distance of the Washington Capitals for top spot in the Eastern Conference's Metropolitan Division
"We're definitely watching when they're playing and I'm sure they're watching when we're playing and we're just going to try to gain points in every game," said Sheary.
Meanwhile, Elliott is just doing his best to stay focused during Calgary's impressive streak, which is just one shy of the 10 consecutive wins that the Atlanta Flames recorded from Oct. 14 to Nov. 3, 1978.
"You're not focusing too much on scoreboard watching," said Elliott after making 31 saves to backstop the Flames to a 3-0 win at Winnipeg on Saturday for his second straight shutout. "We're in a position where we control our destiny. That's the best way to approach it and not worry about any other teams or what's going on in the league."
Despite facing a rash of recent ailments, including a lower-body injury to left winger Carl Hagelin on Saturday, the Penguins have been finding ways to get victories.
"It seems like everybody's chipping in in some capacity to help us win," said Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan, while praising the play of center Oskar Sundqvist, who was called up from the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Friday. "Sunny's played two solid games for us. He's shown that he can play at this level. His biggest strength might be his defensive capability."
The Penguins are also without forwards Matt Cullen (lower body), Patric Hornqvist (concussion) and Bryan Rust (upper body) as well as defensemen Kris Letang (upper body), Trevor Daley (lower body) and Olli Maata (hand).
"Hopefully the injury bug can stop, but we have a lot of call-ups and guys that are developing and they've been coming up and doing a great job for us, so I think we rely on that a lot," said Sheary.
While the Flames lost Michael Stone to an upper-body injury during a 5-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens at home on Thursday, fellow defenseman Dougie Hamilton didn't miss any games after suffering a cut on his leg during the same contest.
"You know what, Dougie was in a lot of pain and there was a time there we were going to shut him down there in the third," said Calgary coach Glen Gulutzan after Hamilton's three-assist performance in Winnipeg. "He played through, after all the freezing and stuff. He was in some discomfort in the third, nothing that will keep him out. He could feel it. I thought he did a great job."
