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Capitals Can’t Complete Comeback, Fall Flat to Flyers 6-3

Harrison Brown
capitals_flyersPhoto by Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images

The Washington Capitals fell to the Philadelphia Flyers by a 6-3 score at Wells Fargo Center without center Evgeny Kuznetsov, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and defenseman Brooks Orpik, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Philadelphia took the first two games of the season series, including an 8-2 blowout win in their home opener on October 14. After scoring three goals in his last two games, T.J. Oshie was held pointless and had a -3 rating. The Capitals now lead the Pittsburgh Penguins by two points with the same number of games played between the two teams and lead the Flyers by four points with a game in hand. 

Capitals’ Lines vs. Philadelphia Flyers

First Period

There was no scoring after one period of play.

The Capitals won 56% of the faceoffs in the first frame. They killed off two Philadelphia power plays and could not convert on their own, going 0-for-1. They led 9-2 in blocked shots.

The Flyers led 9-8 on the shots board. They also had a 5-2 advantage in takeaways and 11-9 in hits. The Flyers’ had a single giveaway to the Capitals’ four.

Second Period

Shayne Gostisbehere launched a rocket from the point for his 12th goal of the season off of a faceoff win from Claude Giroux 2:15 into the period. The goal came during four-on-four play to open the scoring for the Flyers.

Alex Ovechkin tipped in Travis Boyd’s spin-o-rama pass for his league-leading 43rd goal of the season to tie the game at 1. The assist marked Boyd’s first career NHL. Carlson also notched his 45th assist of the season on the play, good for second on the Caps. Ovechkin tied Jari Kurri for 19th on the NHL’s all-time goals list with his 601st career tally.

Oskar Lindblom made it 2-1 for the Flyers with 1:41 left with his first career NHL goal, putting a shot high blocker side past Grubauer. Jakub Voracek tallied his league-leading 60th assist on the season on the goal.

The Flyers made it 3-1 with 18.3 seconds left in the period off of a shot from Ivan Proverov. Sean Couturier tipped it in front of the net for his 30th goal of the season, which leads Philadelphia.

The Capitals won 55% of the faceoffs through two periods of play and blocked 11 shots to the Flyers’ six.

The Flyers led 23-15 on the shot board, including 14-7 in the second period. They had seven takeaways to the Capitals’ four and had only four giveaways to the Caps’ 10. They led 18-13 in hits.

Neither team struck on the man advantage despite each team having three power plays through two periods of play.

Third Period

Wayne Simmonds tipped the puck in front of the crease from defenseman Robert Hagg at the point 1:37 in the period to make it 4-1 Philly off a draw.

T.J. Oshie and Travis Konecny dropped the gloves early in the frame.

Chandler Stephenson scored his sixth goal of the season, his first in 17 games, and his third against the Flyers this season on a 2-on-1 with Jakub Vrana. Vrana floated the puck above two Flyers sticks with 9:29 to go in the game.

Wayne Simmonds made it 5-2 with 5:33 left after Devante Smith-Pelly turned the puck over in the middle of the ice to restore the Flyers’ three-goal lead. The goal marked Simmonds’ 23rd goal of the season.

John Carlson rocketed a backhand past Mrazek from a sharp angle to cut the Flyers’ lead to 5-3. He scored his 14th goal of the season off of a pass off of the boards from Nicklas Backstrom. Tom Wilson also tallied his 21st assist of the season at 16:07.

Jakub Voracek tapped his 18th of the season into the empty net with 37.1 seconds left to double the Flyers’ lead to 6-3.

The Capitals won 57% of the face-offs and led 14-10 in blocked shots.

The Flyers led 35-28 in shots, but the Capitals led 13-12 in shots in the third period. Philly led 11-5 in takeaways and had seven giveaways’ to the Capitals’ 14.

Neither team converted on their three power plays.

Philipp Grubauer made 25 saves on 30 shots.

Game Stats:

Shots:                              Capitals – 35                      Flyers – 28

Hits:                                Capitals – 17                      Flyers – 22

Face-off Win %:            Capitals – 57%                  Flyers – 43%

Power Plays:                 Capitals –  0/3                    Flyers – 0/3

Capitals Clash with Stars at Capital One on Tuesday

The Washington Capitals play their lone home game in a span of five games when they host the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night. Braden Holtby will get the nod in goal. Washington took the first meeting of the year 4-3 in overtime at American Airlines Center but have not won at home against Dallas since 2008. The Stars, who visit the Winnipeg Jets tonight, play the final game of a six-game road trip. They have gone 0-2-2 on their road swing so far. The Stars are two points behind the Colorado Avalanche and tied with the Anaheim Ducks for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Puck drop is at 7 PM on NBC Sports Washington.

By Harrison Brown

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