Photo: Rob Carr/Getty
The Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 5-3 in Friday’s preseason finale at Capital One Arena. Goaltender Ilya Samsonov made 22 saves in the victory.
Lines and Pairs
Ovechkin — Kuznetsov — Wilson
Mantha — Eller — Sprong
Sheary — Lapierre — Oshie
Malenstyn — Dowd — Hathaway
Fehervary — Carlson
Orlov — Jensen
Kempny — Schultz
Samsonov
Scratches: Center Connor McMichael, forward Carl Hagelin, defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk
First Period
Midway into the first frame, captain Alex Ovechkin limped off the ice and headed down the tunnel following a hit on Flyers forward Travis Konecny.
Alex Ovechkin hobbled off the ice after hitting Travis Konecny. pic.twitter.com/4M3nFl2IoL
— Ryan Gilbert (@RGilbertSOP) October 8, 2021
Center Lars Eller (1) opened the scoring at the 11:11 mark, giving the Capitals a 1-0 lead.
Lil pokey poke pic.twitter.com/vgCzDvi7CX
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 8, 2021
The Capitals announced during first intermission that Ovechkin (lower-body) would not return for the remainder of the game.
Quick Stats
SOG: 12-6 Capitals
Face-Off Win %: 65% (Flyers), 35% (Capitals)
Hits: 7-6 Capitals
Second Period
Defenseman John Carlson (3) extended the Capitals’ lead 2-0 at the 4:54 mark. Fellow blueliner Martin Fehervary (2) and center Evgeny Kuznetsov (3) assisted.
Johnny B scoring! pic.twitter.com/TrCPHqfP7A
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 9, 2021
The Flyers would get on the board thanks to captain Claude Giroux, who made it a 2-1 game at the 9:52 into the middle frame. Forward Cam Atkinson tied it up, 2-2, at the 10:41 mark following a Carlson turnover and 2-on-1 rush.
After a Kuznetsov turnover, Atkinson gave the Flyers a 3-2 lead with less than two minutes left in the second.
Quick Stats
Total SOG: 22-20 Capitals
Face-Off Win %: 66% (Flyers), 34% (Capitals)
Total Hits: 14-14
Third Period
Forward Tom Wilson (2) converted on a power-play and tied the game at 3-3 at the 2:27 mark. Defenseman Justin Schultz (2) and forward Anthony Mantha (2) had the helpers.
Right place right time! pic.twitter.com/HzTwsDCsIs
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 9, 2021
Sixteen seconds later, forward Daniel Sprong would score, but after review, it was called for offsides.
Mantha (2) would help the Capitals regain the lead, 4-3, just over four minutes in. Forward Conor Sheary (1) assisted.
This one counts folks pic.twitter.com/6aktEqynEI
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 9, 2021
With less than a minute to go, center Nic Dowd (1) would seal the deal with an empty-net goal, giving a final score of 5-3 and a Capitals victory.
Quick Stats
Total SOG: 33-25 Capitals
Face-Off Win %: 66% (Flyers), 34% (Capitals)
Total Hits: 22-21 Capitals
The Capitals swing into full gear Wednesday night, hosting the New York Rangers in the highly-anticipated regular-season opener at Capital One Arena. TNT will have the coverage starting at 7:30 PM ET.
By Della Young
Both Malenstyn and Fev made incredible reasons to keep them in the lineup tonight.
I love Carl Hagelin, Becks got to be his backup.
And Kempny has been getting better- but it’s still not good enough. Feharvary has locked his spot in stone for me, and so has TVR. They are better than Kempny. And obviously orlov is too. Kempny needs another season of conditioning in the AHL.
Malenstyn has definitely made a case for the Hagelin spot. A bit of a different player, but I think he fits better with a gritty line like that. He’s also good on the PK, and was the leader on the Bears PK.
Don’t know if Kempny needs an entire year of conditioning in the AHL. But needs time, certainly. But how long can we wait for him?
Not much longer, I’d think.
Any word on why McMichael was scratched?
Is was a planned scratch. He and Lapierre split the last two games.
I think its because they plan to keep Lapp in the NHL. Maybe not play him every night, maybe bring Connor up and down the roster to play some nights, but Lapp has shown us he’s faaaar to good for the junior leagues. Even if he’s not playing every game in the NHL, professional NHL practices are going to do so much more for him that games in the Q.
He cooled off once he started facing NHL players. The first couple of games were mostly against young prospects and AHL players. He’ll stay up for a few games, but less than 10. Caps don’t want to burn first year of his contract.
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