3 Takeaways From Flames Disappointing Loss To Capitals

The Calgary Flames just finished a tough stretch of hockey, facing three highly competitive teams, concluding with a clash with the NHL's top team, the Washington Capitals, on Tuesday night at the Saddledome.

Despite keeping the game close in the second, mishaps on special teams led to their 3-1 loss, Dustin Wolf's only fourth defeat on home ice this season. However, he did prevent Alex Ovechkin from inching close to the all-time goal record, as The Great 8 only had four shots on goal in 16:49 of ice time.

The Flames are now on a two-game losing streak, their first since dropping back-to-back to the St. Louis Blues two weeks ago.

Let's discuss their latest setback.

Barrie Has Immediate Impact on NHL Return

Tyson Barrie hadn't skated with the Flames since Nov. 12. On Friday, he went to the Calgary Wranglers for a conditioning stint, where he picked up three points in two games before returning on Tuesday night.

In the second period, he fired a shot on goal that Blake Coleman tipped in to tie the game at 1-1. Moreover, later in the frame, Barre had a seeing-eye shot that rang off the crossbar, which would have changed the game's complexion.

Ultimately, Barre should become a mainstay in the Flames lineup now that Kevin Bahl is listed as week-to-week. In his return, the 33-year-old was minus-1 with an assist, two shots, and one hit while playing 17:20.

Wolf Loses Epic Goalie Battle

During their Western Canada road trip, the Capitals extended goalie Logan Thompson, a Calgary native, for six years at $35.1 million. He's been nothing less than exceptional during his first season with the team, making 32 saves on Tuesday night to pick up his 23rd win of the year.

Surprisingly, Thompson was not selected for Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-off. He was sharp and turned aside all but one Calgary shot, while Wolf surrendered three on 23 shots.

This should be a fascinating matchup to watch for the next six seasons, as both netminders are worthy of being Vezina Trophy candidates in the coming years if not this season. With a win on Tuesday, Thompson is now 2-0-0 against Wolf in his career.

Lack of Scoring Hurts (Again)

The Flames were already in for a tough matchup against the Capitals before the puck even dropped. But having defeated other top teams recently, it wasn't all doom and gloom.

However, Calgary was in a deeper hole once Washington went up 1-0. Considering they are one of the lowest-scoring teams in the NHL, going up against a goalie who doesn't get beat often and wins 82% of his starts makes the task a little more challenging.

In Tuesday's game, the Flames fired 33 shots on goal, but a small percentage of them were difficult since no one was screening Thompson, disrupting his vision. As great as 33 shots sound on a stats sheet, a lot were from a distance, and no one will score goals on him from far out; he's too good.

Without sounding too harsh, no one stood out for the Flames, and their inability to score was the main reason they lost, not that they were facing an elite team. Scoring one goal a game and relying on your goalie to steal every contest is a recipe for disaster.