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The Philadelphia Flyers (37-25-12, 86 points) rode a three game winning streak and a lot of confidence into Tuesday’s game against the Washington Capitals. Following big wins over Chicago, Detroit, and Washington, the match-up marked the beginning of another critical week in their playoff aspirations.
However, the Capitals took advantage of sub-par efforts from the Flyers’ defense and goaltender Daniel Vladar, winning 6-4. They rode two goal efforts from Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson and played a physical bruising game.
Philadelphia got two point games from Travis Sanheim (goal and assist) and Travis Konency (two assists).
In short, it was another opportunity lost for Philadelphia. Much like their loss last Tuesday to the Columbus Blue Jackets at home, the Flyers had help from teams in front of them, but they were unable to gain ground.
Philadelphia was able to rally multiple times to keep the game close, but they were unable to extend their streak as a result. A major reason for the loss were the Flyers 18 giveaways, as they had twice as many as Washington.
Unfortunately, the loss snapped their eight game road winning streak, which is tied for the longest in team history.
Martone’s Solid Flyers’ Debut
In addition, the game was also noteworthy for the team’s present and future. It marked the NHL debut of forward Porter Martone, who signed a three year entry level contract on Sunday.
Martone was slotted at right wing by Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet for his first game. He played alongside center Christian Dvorak and Travis Konecny, who swung over to the left wing.
In addition, Tocchet put him on a power-play unit with Trevor Zegras, Konecny, Noah Cates and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen. His primary responsibility on the power-play was working the left side of the unit formation with net front responsibilities.
All in all, while he went without a point, Martone did not look out of place in a game that was very physical. He was able to get to the net when he needed to, finishing with five shots on goal.
He had an inauspicious first moment in when he was called for a delay of game penalty in the first period, but looked solid otherwise.
Late in the second period, Martone managed to get to the net for a near scoring chance, but was unable to wrangle the puck off a pass from Matvei Michkov.
He was able to get his first real shot on goal when he fired an 86 MPH bullet (per NHL Edge) on Logan Thompson that the Capitals goalie had to come across to stop with his left shoulder.
Overall, he did not look out of place on the ice as he made several smart passes and kept up with the pace of play.
“It took a couple shifts to get my feet wet,” Martone told reporters in Washington. “I think our line created some good momentum. I thought I got better as the game went on.”
Flyers Game Summary
Capitals Get The Jump In the First Period
The first period played fairly even early on. However, the Capitals were able to able to jump out to a two goal lead in the final five minutes. After an offensive zone turnover by Zegras, Washington got a rush up ice. Winger Tom Wilson rifled it from between the circles past Dan Vladar to make it 1-0 Washington.
Shortly after, the Capitals again scored off the rush. Forward Connor McMichael managed to kick the puck off a scrum to defenseman Matt Roy. His initial shot was stopped but Alex Ovechkin tucked it past Vladar to give Washington a 2-0 lead heading to the intermission.
Philadelphia had an 11-5 shot advantage for the period, but they were unable to dent Capitals goalie Logan Thompson.
Flyers Rally Early In Second, But Caps’ Power-Play Strikes Twice
In the second period, the Flyers were able to get on the board when Travis Sanheim fired a point shot. Initially the goal was waived off for a goalie interference call as Christian Dvorak was in the blue paint and made contact with Thompson.
However, Philadelphia successfully challenged the call that Capitals defenseman Martin Fehevary’s stick made contact with Thompson. As a result, the Flyers cut the Capitals lead to one.
A few minutes later, the Flyers were able to tie the game as Carl Grundstrom crashed the net. The Swedish winger received a ridiculous backhand pass by Zegras that he was able to bang past Thompson to lock the game at 2-2.
Washington leaped back in front when Jakob Chychrun scored his league leading 24th goal of the season on the power-paly. Pierre-Luc Dubois was able to beat Luke Glendening off the draw, getting the puck to Ryan Leonard. The Capitals rookie winger found Chychrun for a blazing one-timer to beat Vladar.
After taking the lead, the Capitals tightened things up defensively and muffled the Flyers scoring chances, keeping them to zero shots for a ten minute stretch.
Following a tripping call on Zegras at 15:59, Washington restored their two goal lead as Ryan Leonard managed to bang home a shot at the left post off a pass by Dubois from behind the net.
A Flyers concern: three of the four goals scored by the Capitals were on clean looks for Vladar.
A Late Push, But Not Enough
The Flyers once again struck early on as Dvorak scored 33 seconds into the third period. Following a rush started by Sanheim, Konecny fired a shot that went wide, but he followed the puck behind the net and found the center for a quick shot.
But once again, the Capitals got their two goal lead back again when Alex Ovechkin got his second goal of the game following a feed from McMichael after a shot caromed off of Drysdale.
Nevertheless, the Flyers kept at it and were able to get the game back within a goal with just over 12 minutes left. Denver Barkey was able to deflect home a soft wrist shot from Ristolainen. The goal came as a result of Philadelphia getting heavy traffic in front of Thompson with Barkey, Michkov, and Noah Cates all in position.
As the game grew late, Ristolainen was able to draw a tripping call on Dylan Strome at 16:13, giving the Flyers one more chance to tie the game. Even with the Flyers pulling Vladar to gain a six on four advantage and Michkov whirling at the point, they couldn’t get a tying goal.
As a result, the Flyers elected to keep their net empty. Wilson made them pay for it as he was able to whip the puck all the way down the ice into that net to ice the game.
Where Things Stand
Entering the game, Philadelphia was two points out of an Eastern Conference Wild Card spot, trailing the Columbus Blue Jackets (88 points in 74 games played). They were lodged in a three way tie in the Eastern Conference standings with the Detroit Red Wings and the Ottawa Senators with the same number of points and games played.
On the bright side, the Flyers are 12-4-1 since February 26. They are second only to the Buffalo Sabres for the best record in the NHL since the Olympic Break.
However, big games loom Thursday and Friday against the Red Wings at home and away against the New York Islanders. Philadelphia will have tighten up things up if they hope to stay in the hunt.
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