Despite a strong opening period, the Flyers ultimately fell to the Capitals on Wednesday night. Philadelphia will finish up their five-game homestand 2-3 so let’s wrap on the loss:
First Period
Plus: This was a strong effort from the Flyers to open this game. Philly were able to play at their preferred pace of play at even strength and slowed the Capitals’ Ovechkin led powerplay after taking three penalties. Kevin Hayes tallied on the Flyers lone powerplay opportunity, with assists from Travis Konecny and Tony DeAngelo. Of course, this would be the only goal of the night for the Flyers.
Want to see a stat that points to the Flyers lack of offensive firepower as a unit? Check out this tweet out from Anthony SanFlippo of Crossing Broad:
Second Period
Minus: Like the game against the Avalanche, the Flyers spent far too much time killing penalties against superior man advantage units and at 3:51 of the middle frame, T.J. Oshie made them pay for it in this one. After some crisp puck movement from Dylan Strome and Evgeny Kuznetsov, Oshie found some soft space on the ice to wire a one-time blast past Carter Hart. There wasn’t much going in Philly’s favor after that.
Third Period
Minus: Dylan Strome would help Washington take the 2-1 lead on a redirection goal at 9:19. It was Strome’s second point of the night, while John Carslon and former Flyer Erik Gustafsson picked up the assists. This would ice the game for Washington.
Minus: Alex Ovechkin scored two empty netters in this one and on the second tally, Travis Konecny would take exception and start a big-time scuffle by the Flyers bench. A noticeably frustrated Konecny must have felt that the Capitals was either showboating or took his time skating the puck in to score his second empty netter of the night.
Quick Hits
- According to Adam kimelman, Ovechkin;s two empty netters bring him to 499 goals at even strength, leaving him one from becoming the fourth player to get 500. He’ll join Wayne Gretzky (617), Gordie Howe (566) and Jaromir Jagr (538) with his next even strength tally.
- The Flyers have scored a powerplay goal in three straight games.
- Travis Konecny is currently on a 4-game point streak
What’s Next
The Flyers head out on the road to begin a four-game road trip starting on Friday night, when they’ll be hosted by the Vegas Golden Knights for a 10:00 p.m. EST puckdrop.
