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Capitals eye another win over Flames

Oct 21, 2008 - 6:52 PM Washington (3-1-1) at Calgary (1-3-1), 9:30 pm EDT

CALGARY, Alberta (Ticker) -- The Washington Capitals travel to Calgary on Tuesday to take on the Flames - a team they haven't lost to in nine years.

Washington, which is unbeaten with two ties in the last eight meetings with Calgary since a 5-4 overtime loss on March 13, 1999, dropped a 4-3 decision in a shootout to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday.

Before that, though, it rattled off three straight wins while outscoring opponents, 13-4, in that span.

Alexander Semin has impressed throughout the first five games of the season, recording six goals and four assists - putting him seven points ahead of superstar teammate Alex Ovechkin, who has been held to two goals and one assist. In 2007-08, the 24-year-old Semin registered 26 goals and 16 assists in 63 games.

Calgary also has fizzled in close games recently, losing back-to-back one-goal games to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday and Saturday.

The last time the Flames started with a 1-3-1 record was 2005-06, when they went on to win the Northwest Division and finished as the top defensive team in the league. Meanwhile, goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff collected the Vezina Trophy.

This season, Kiprusoff has been the main culprit in the Flames' struggles, posting a 4.37 goals-against average after turning in a stellar 2.69 mark last season.