Philadelphia Flyers (15-21-6 36pts) v. Washington Capitals (25-12-4 54pts)
Game Recap:
To start the game both the Washington Capitals and the Philadelphia Flyers would test each other out, and get a feel for the game, but it would be off a defensive zone faceoff that the Flyers would win but Jakub Vrana getting to the puck first and taking it all the way down tot he offensive zone and throwing the puck on net for Tom Wilson to tip in to get the first goal of the game. Then Andre Burakovsky would take an ill advised offensive zone penalty for hooking, but the Capitals would shut down the Flyers powerplay and prevent them from taking a shot on goal. However, the Flyers would strike back when Michal Kempny would make a bad pass out of the zone that would be picked off and lead to Jakub Voracek tying the game at 1 a piece. The period would end with game tied at one a piece, but one of the bigger points is the fact that the Flyers dominated the Capitals both in shots and in the faceoff circle. The Capitals would only generate 4 shots in the opening period.
To start the second period, there would be a lot of back and forth between the two teams until Robert Hagg would be called for hooking against Evgeny Kuznetsov. However, on the powerplay the Capitals would not generate much with the opportunity. the Capitals would respond not that much longer as Lars Eller would let a shot of from the point that TJ Oshie would tip in front of the net to give the Capitals the lead. Then not the long after getting the lead, Vrana would cause a turnover and turn on the wheels as he does a great individual play to create a turnover and then convert it into a goal for the Capitals. The Capitals would keep the pressure going as ALex Ovechkin would draw a tripping penalty on Ivan Provorov, and the Capitals would strike in the final seconds of the powerplay as Vrana would score his second goal of the game. In the final minute of the second period, Brooks Orpik would get called for roughing which would give the Flyers a powerplay to start the third period. Biggest flaw in the Capitals game right now is in the faceoff circle as the Flyers are manhandling them in that category.
The Capitals would start the period by killing the remainder of Orpik’s penalty, but not long after, Radko Gudas would lay a clean hit on Nic Dowd which Devante Smith=-Pelly would step up and fight Gudas. However, the Smith-Pelly would gain an additional two minutes for instigating to give the Flyers another powerplay. After the Capitals would kill off this penalty, Wilson would get called for slashing, but the Capitals would kill that one as well. Then Travis Konecny would be upset over a hit by Alex Ovechkin and would then take a slashing penalty as a result. On this powerplay, the Capitals would get some looks, but would not capitalize on the powerplay. The Flyers would respond though after a failed clearing attempt by Ovechkin as Wayne Simmonds crashed the net and was able to jam one home to cut the Capitals lead to 2. After this goal would be scored chaos would ensue as when Tom Wilson thought he had a empty net goal to seal the deal for the Capitals, it would be ruled offsides after a Coach’s Challenge, but it would also result in Shayne Gostisbehere penalty that would upset the Flyers and result in Simmonds getting a 10 minute misconduct. However, the Capitals would not be on the powerplay long as Evgeny Kuznetsov would be called for hooking, and then while 4 on 4 with the goalie pulled Claude Giroux would score to inch the Flyers closer, but then Oshie would get the empty netter to ice this win for the Capitals.
Lineups:
Philadelphia Flyers:
Claude Giroux — Sean Couturier — Travis Konecny
Oskar Lindblom — Nolan Patrick — Jakub Voracek
James van Riemsdyk — Jordan Weal — Wayne Simmonds
Michael Raffl — Scott Laughton — Dale Weise
Ivan Provorov — Travis Sanheim
Robert Hagg — Christian Folin
Shayne Gostisbehere — Radko Gudas
Mike McKenna
Carter Hart
Scratched: Jori Lehtera, Phil Varone
Injured: Corban Knight (collarbone), Brian Elliott (lower body), Anthony Stolarz (lower body), Andrew MacDonald (lower body), Michal Neuvirth (lower body)
Washington Capitals:
Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky — Travis Boyd — Brett Connolly
Chandler Stephenson — Nic Dowd — Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny — John Carlson
Brooks Orpik — Jonas Siegenthaler
Pheonix Copley
Braden Holtby
Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Madison Bowey
Injured: Nicklas Backstrom (illness), Christian Djoos (leg)
First Period:
Capitals Goal – 4:21 – Tom Wilson (13) from Jakub Vrana (10)
Capitals Penalty – 5:46 – Andre Burakovsky 2 minutes for Hooking
Flyers Goal – 9:28 – Jakub Voracek (11) from Oskar Lindblom (8)
End of 1st – PHI – 1 WAS – 1
Shots 11 04
Faceoffs 09 05
Hits 10 06
PP 0/1 0/0
Second Period:
Flyers Penalty – 5:24 – Robert Hagg 2 minutes for Slashing
Capitals Goal – 9:19 – TJ Oshie (12) from Lars Eller (13) and /john Carlson (34)
Capitals Goal – 11:22 – Jakub Vrana (13) from unassisted
Flyers Penalty – 14:12 – Ivan Provorov 2 minutes for Tripping
Capitals PPG – 15:55 – Jakub Vrana (14) from Travis Boyd (8) and John Carlson (35)
Capitals Penalty – 19:06 – Brooks Orpik 2 minutes for Roughing
End of 2nd – PHI – 1 WAS – 4
Shots 23 17
Faceoffs 30 11
Hits 19 09
PP 0/1 1/2
Third Period:
Flyers Penalty – 2:04 – Radko Gudas 5 minute major for Fighting
Capitals Penalty – 2:04 – Devante Smith-Pelly 5 minute major for Fighting
Capitals Penalty – 2:04 – Devante Smith-Pelly (Burakovsky) 2 minutes for Roughing
Capitals Penalty – 9:06 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Slashing
Flyers Penalty – 13:31 – Travis Konecny 2 minutes for Slashing
Flyers Goal – 16:33 – Wayne Simmonds (13) from Jakub Voracek (23) and Sean Couturier (15)
Capitals ENG – 17:56 – Coaches Challenge for Offsides Successful – No Goal
Flyers Penalty – 17:56 – Shayne Gostisbehere 2 minutes for Hooking
Flyers Penalty – 17:56 – Wayne Simmonds 10 minute Misconduct
Capitals Penalty – 19:28 – Evgeny Kuznetsov 2 minutes for Hooking
Flyers Goal – 19:53 – Claude Giroux (14) from Sean Coutrier (16) and Jakub Voracek (24)
Capitals ENG – 19:57 – TJ Oshie (13) from unassisted
End of 3rd – PHI – 3 WAS – 5
Shots 40 26
Faceoffs 45 19
Hits 23 15
PP 0/4 1/4
Next Up:
Washington (26-12-4 56pts) @ Boston (25-14-4 54pts)
Philadelphia (15-22-6 36pts) v. Dallas (23-17-4 50pts)
