The Philadelphia Flyers continued their five-game road trip with a trip to Washington, DC to take on Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals. They have only won two games this month, so it’s time to change that. Samuel Ersson got the start in net. Rasmus Ristolainen and Garnet Hathaway remained out with injuries. The lineup stayed the same as the last game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. A Flyers comeback was stopped just short. They scored late in the third to get within one, but couldn’t tie it. Alex Ovechkin is now only seven goals away from the record. They fall to 28-34-8 on the season.
Alex Ovechkin gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at the 14:25 mark of the first period. Trevor van Riemsdyk’s shot from the blue line found Aliaksei Protas in front. He then made a nice pass to a wide-open Ovechkin who put a slapshot past the right pad of Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson. Protas and vanRiemsdyk collected assists.
Brandon Duhaime gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead at the 1:56 mark of the second period. Anthony Beauvillier took the puck behind the Flyers net and then passed to Matt Roy. Roy then put a wrist shot on net and Duhaime tipped it past the blocker of Ersson. Roy and Beauvillier tallied assists.
The Flyers got the game’s first power play at the 5:57 mark of the second period as Tom Wilson was called for hooking. They had trouble setting up in the zone and the Capitals did a nice job clearing the puck when given the opportunity.
With 15 seconds remaining on the power play, Tyson Foerster was called for tripping. This made it four-on-four then the Capitals would get a power play. Ersson had to make a few big saves on Ovechkin and Egor Zamula broke up a big play.
The Capitals took a 3-0 lead at the 11:06 mark of the second period courtesy of Andrew Mangiapane. A turnover by Bobby Brink sent Beauvillier the other way off the rush. He made a cross-ice pass to Mangiapane who put a snapshot under the right arm of Ersson. Beauvillier picked up the only assist.
The Flyers got their second power play at the 12:40 mark of the second period as the Capitals got caught with too many men on the ice. Ovechkin served the penalty. Brink had a good chance in tight but the puck went off of Noah Cates and was able to be cleared.
Ryan Poehling got the Flyers on the board at the 5:10 mark of the third period. Owen Tippett played the puck diagonally off the boards, Poehling collected it, crashed the net, and put a backhander over the right shoulder of Capitals goaltender Charlie Lindgren. Jakob Chychrun’s stick helped out as the puck deflected off of it. The goal was unassisted.
The Flyers pulled Ersson with 3:35 left in the third period in favor of the extra attacker and only being down by two. They were able to capitalize as Sean Couturier got them within one at the 17:24 mark of the third period. Matvei Michkov put the puck on net and it was loose under the blocker of Lindgren. Couturier then poked away at it and it eventually crossed the goal line. Poehling and Tippett were given assists.
Ersson was pulled yet again with 2:25 left in the third period. Unfortunately, the Flyers couldn’t get any more pucks past Lindgren. They did have a great chance right before the buzzer as Travis Konecny found Poehling all alone in front but Wilson knocked the puck away.
The Flyers went zero for two on the power play but managed to kill off the only Capitals man advantage.
Ersson had a decent night in net. He saved 13 of 16 shots, giving him a .813 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
Ovechkin (35) Assists: Protas (33), vanRiemsdyk (17)
2nd Period:
Duhaime (8) Assists: Roy (20), Beauvillier (8)
Mangiapane (12) Assists: Beauvillier (9)
3rd Period:
Poehling (6) Assists: none
Couturier (11) Assists: Poehling (13), Tippett (18)
Flyers Next Game
Flyers next game is Saturday, Mar 22, in Dallas against the Stars.
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