Originally scheduled for the 21st of December, the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals are due to face-off at the Wells Fargo Center tonight in the first of 8 straight home games. Heading into the All-Star break, the Flyers won back to back games after snapping their 13-game losing streak, however they have now lost 3 straight with their most recent due to a third period collapse against their cross-state rivals.
The Washington Capitals are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games as they’ve been dealing with a slew of injuries and inconsistencies to their offense. When they were supposed to play in December, the Capitals had the 5th best offense but that has now slipped to 11th. Their goals against remains top 10, their penalty killing has dropped to 18th, and somehow their power play is sitting at 27th.
This will be the second meeting this season between Philadelphia and Washington, with the first one being played on November 6th when the Flyers secured a 2-1 victory in Washington, with Martin Jones stopping 31 shots, including 14 in the third period. Jones is expected to tend the net for his first start since January 25th against the New York Islanders.
Alexander Ovechkin leads the team with 31 goals and 62 points in 49 games with his running mate Evgeny Kuznetsov right behind him with 33 assists and 48 points. Ovechkin snapped his 6 game goal-less drought in his last game against the Nashville Predators, scoring twice and bringing him right back in the Rocket Richard conversation as he trails Chris Kreider by 2.
The Flyers are still led by Claude Giroux and Cam Atkinson, who both have 37 points, with the former scoring 16 goals and the latter potting in 17. The Flyers second line of James van Riemsdyk – Scott Laughton – Travis Konecny have been playing great hockey of late, especially Laughton who has points in 6 straight, goals in 3 straight, back to back multi point efforts, and 12 points in his last 12 games. The offense as a whole remains problematic as they sit 27th in goals per game, 30th on the power play, and 28th in shooting percentage.
PHI Record: 15-24-9, 7th in Metropolitan
WSH Record: 27-15-9, 4th in Metropolitan
When: 7:00pm ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
PHI Goalie: Martin Jones (6-8-2, 3.56 GAA, .901 SV%, 0 SO)
WSH Goalie: Ilya Samsonov (16-7-3, 2.83 GAA, .906 SV%, 3 SO)
PHI Projected Lineup:
#23 Oskar Lindblom – #28 Claude Giroux – #89 Cam Atkinson
#25 James van Riemsdyk – #21 Scott Laughton – #11 Travis Konecny
#76 Isaac Ratcliffe – #48 Morgan Frost – #71 Max Willman
#59 Jackson Cates – #82 Connor Bunnaman – #17 Zack MacEwen
#9 Ivan Provorov – #61 Justin Braun
#6 Travis Sanheim – #24 Nick Seeler
#3 Keith Yandle – #8 Kevin Connauton
#35 Martin Jones
#79 Carter Hart
WSH Projected Lineup:
#8 Alex Ovechkin – #92 Evgeny Kuznetsov – #73 Conor Sheary
#91 Joe Snively – #19 Nicklas Backstrom – #43 Tom Wilson
#24 Connor McMichael – #20 Lars Eller – #49 Brett Leason
#62 Carl Hagelin – #26 Nic Dowd – #21 Garnet Hathaway
#42 Martin Fehervary – #74 John Carlson
#9 Dmitry Orlov – #3 Nick Jensen
#6 Michal Kempny – #57 Trevor van Riemsdyk
#30 Ilya Samsonov
#1 Pheonix Copley
Last Game PHI: 2/15/22, 5-4 OTL at Pittsburgh
Last Game WSH: 2/15/22, 4-1 W at Nashville
News and Notes:
– This will represent Claude Giroux’s 55th career game against the Capitals, where he has scored 23 goals (most against any team alongside the New York Islanders) and 49 points
– For Alex Ovechkin this will be his 65th game against the Flyers, where he has scored 42 goals (5th most against any team) and 71 points.
– This is the Capitals’ first visit to the Wells Fargo Center since April 17th, 2021, when they defeated the Flyers 6-3. This is also only the second of four meetings this season.
– The Capitals are 5-5-0 in their last 10 games, 12-10-5 on the road, and 8-3-1 vs the Metropolitan Division
– The Flyers are 2-6-2 in their last 10 games, 8-11-4 on home ice, and 3-9-3 vs the Metropolitan Division
– Tonight represents the 233rd matchup between the Flyers and Capitals, with the Flyers holding the edge at 120-83-19-10.
Broadcast Info: TV – NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN+, Radio – 97.5 The Fanatic
PHI Injuries: Kevin Hayes (IR – lower body), Derick Brassard (hip), Ryan Ellis (IR – lower body), Nate Thompson (IR – shoudler), Sean Couturier (LTIR – back), Rasmus Ristolainen (IR – upper body), Patrick Brown (IR – knee), Joel Farabee (IR – upper body)
WSH Injuries: TJ Oshie (IR – upper body), Anthony Mantha (LTIR – shoulder), Vitek Vanecek (IR – upper body), Justin Schultz (upper body)
