The Philadelphia Flyers (23-26-7) competed closely with the Washington Capitals (36-11-7). Aside from a few mistakes, the Flyers performed much better than most expected.
Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier arrived at the Wells Fargo Center but not in time to play. They watched alongside Daniel Brière, likely to join the lineup on Saturday. On the ice, their new teammates hung tightly with the best in the NHL.
Matvei Michkov scored a pair of goals, but a perfectly placed shot by Lars Eller set up Jakob Chychrun to score a game-winner, sneaking the puck between the space between Ivan Fedotov and the near-side post.
Philadelphia paced each period. They were the better team on special teams and at the faceoff circle. Overall, the Flyers needed one more save or to make one more play. Charlie Lindgren outlasted Fedotov.
First Period
Shots: 7-7
Score: 1-1
The Capitals (-162) were the favorites before the puck dropped.
Michkov set the pace in the first period. He challenged Lindgren with a backhand to the glove side. Then, he was tripped by Rasmus Sandin, trying the five-hole on Lindgren.
Sandin served a minor penalty for tripping. Philadelphia never established possession in the offensive zone, beginning 0/1 on the powerplay.
Fedotov stopped Tom Wilson on a breakaway. It was a critical save because Wilson could have deflated the Flyers immediately. On the attack, Michkov continued to generate pressure on Lindgren. He located Sean Couturier for a scoring chance, and Rodrigo Ābols nearly found Michkov in the slot. Washington began to pick up the pace on offensive transitions, but Travis Sanheim kept his containment.
Emil Andrae served a minor penalty for tripping. Fedotov was in his bag, catching and clearing the puck out of the defensive zone. He made two big saves on Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome. On the night, Philadelphia finished 2/2 (100%) on the penalty kill.
Eventually, Michkov put the Flyers on the scoreboard. He cherry-picked a breakaway to score with 2:29 remaining in the first period. Michkov leads Philadelphia in points this season versus the Capitals and provided a 1-0 lead.
Ovechkin tied the game. He trailed into the slot, accepting a feed from Martin Fehérváry and snapping a shot past Fedotov, 1-1, with 0:53 remaining in the first period. Noah Cates was a moment too late to break up the pass. Ovechkin is sixteen goals away from breaking the all-time goalscoring record, chasing Wayne Gretzky.
Second Period
Shots: 13-11, Flyers
Score: 3-2, Flyers
Connor McMichael continued his ways against the Flyers. He parked next to Fedotov on the post, and Aliaksei Protas served the setup pass for the designed tip-in. McMichael put Washington ahead, 2-1, with 15:43 remaining in the second period.
Trevor van Riemsdyk served a minor penalty for tripping. Andrae took a shot from the blue line, and Tyson Foerster deflected the puck past Lindgren, 2-2, with 12:37 remaining in the second period. Philadelphia finished 1/2 (50%) on the powerplay.
Nick Seeler hollered at an official to get out of the way. You could hear him anywhere in the Wells Fargo Center. At about this time, Kuzmenko and Pelletier met Brière.
Ābols continues to impress with his placement in the offensive zone and hockey sense. Michkov scores his second goal, 3-2, with 8:41 remaining in the second period. On the scoring play, Ābols used his vision and sent a well-placed pass through the slot for Michkov to dunk past Lindgren. He’s making a case to remain in the Flyers system beyond this season. Ābols will be an unrestricted free agent.
“They [Ābols and Michkov] look good together. He can speak the language, too.” – John Tortorella; 2/6/2025
Later in the period, the Capitals began to press. Bobby Brink turned down Wilson in the neutral zone. His defensive stand led to an icing from Washington, denying them an offensive zone entry.
Third Period
Shots: 22-18, Flyers
Score: 4-3, Capitals
Cates was on his horse in the third period. He sped into the offensive zone to beat an icing call. Regaining the puck on the forecheck, Cates found Sanheim storming the high slot, but Lindgren made the save. Philadelphia created scoring chances, especially on the forecheck, hemming the Capitals in the defensive zone to prevent zone clearance.
Washington went on the attack, and Travis Konecny had the opportunity to clear the defensive zone. He failed, and Eller rang the post, 3-3, with 13:37 remaining in regulation. It was a perfectly placed shot.
Chychrun scored the game-winner. John Carlson directed a pass to the faceoff circle, and Chychrun snuck a well-placed shot between Fedotov and the near-side post, 4-3, with 7:55 remaining in regulation. It’s a shot you would like to see Fedotov save.
Foerster centered a scoring chance to Brink, but the shot shanked wide of the post. Anthony Richard centered a pass to Jamie Drysdale, but Lindgren made another vital save. John Tortorella pulled Fedotov for a final push at six-on-five. Michkov put another shot on goal, but Foerster couldn’t clean up the rebound as time ran out.
Up Next
Next, the Philadelphia Flyers will host the Pittsburgh Penguins tomorrow at 7:00pm/ET at the Wells Fargo Center.
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