Flyers-Capitals: Game 66 Preview

A few weeks ago, the thought that this game would hold the magnitude it does was really unthinkable. The Flyers were more on the playoff bubble than they were holding a secure spot and the Capitals were running away with the division title.

When the Flyers faced the Capitals last on Feb. 8 in Washington, and rolled to a 7-2 victory, it was more of a shock. Now, the two teams enter their final meeting of the regular season on a much more level playing field in the standings.

The Flyers have closed the gap in the Metropolitan Division to three points and are challenging the Capitals for the division lead. They get a chance to close the gap further with one final matchup in the 2019-20 regular season.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Washington Capitals	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	62	23	37	60	John Carlson	65	15	58	73
Sean Couturier	65	21	37	58	Alex Ovechkin	64	45	18	63
Jake Voracek	65	12	40	52	Jakub Vrana	65	25	26	51
Claude Giroux	65	19	30	49	Evgeny Kuznetsov	59	19	32	51
James van Riemsdyk	65	19	21	40	Nicklas Backstrom	57	11	40	51

Player to Watch
14 Sean Couturier	8 Alex Ovechkin
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 2 A, 5 P, E	Last 5 Games: 4 G, 1 A, 5 P, +2

Since the Flyers six-game winning streak began, Sean Couturier has six points including four goals. Couturier had an especially strong game against Washington on Feb. 8, scoring two goals and adding an assist.

When the Flyers last faced the Capitals, all eyes were on Alex Ovechkin and his pursuit of 700 career goals. Ovechkin didn't reach the milestone until Feb. 22, two weeks later, but has picked up his scoring touch since then with four goals in the last five games.

Projected Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott	70 Braden Holtby
30 GP, 15-7-4, 2.90 GAA, .899 SV%	45 GP, 24-13-5, 3.12 GAA, .898 SV%

Brian Elliott gets his first start since Feb. 20, when he made 28 saves in a 4-3 overtime win in Columbus. Elliott was in goal for the Flyers 7-2 win over the Capitals on Feb. 8 and made 25 saves in the win.

The loss to the Flyers on Feb. 8 started a stretch of four losses in five starts for Braden Holtby. Since then, he has won his last three starts, including Sunday's game against the Wild where he made 37 saves on 40 shots. Holtby has been in goal for all three games against the Flyers this season.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Nolan Patrick (migrane disorder, out indefinitely), Oskar Lindblom (Ewing's sarcoma, out for season)

Scratches: Shayne Gostisbehere

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
28 Claude Giroux	14 Sean Couturier	93 Jake Voracek
21 Scott Laughton	13 Kevin Hayes	11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk	38 Derek Grant	18 Tyler Pitlick
12 Michael Raffl	44 Nate Thompson	62 Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	15 Matt Niskanen
6 Travis Sanheim	5 Phil Myers
8 Robert Hagg	61 Justin Braun
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott	79 Carter Hart

Lineup Notes

No changes are expected to the Flyers lineup after Sunday's win in New York.

Capitals Projected Lineup

Scratches: Michal Kempny, Brendan Leipsic, Travis Boyd

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
8 Alex Ovechkin	92 Evgeny Kuznetsov	43 Tom Wilson
13 Jakub Vrana	19 Nicklas Backstrom	77 T.J. Oshie
62 Carl Hagelin	20 Lars Eller	17 Ilya Kovalchuk
14 Richard Panik	26 Nic Dowd	21 Garnet Hathaway
Defense
4 Brendan Dillon	74 John Carlson
9 Dmitry Orlov	3 Nick Jensen
34 Jonas Siegenthaler	33 Radko Gudas
Goalie
70 Braden Holtby	30 Ilya Samsonov

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (11th), Capitals (T-15th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (12th), Capitals (4th)
Recent History vs. Capitals
- Nov. 13, 2019 - Capitals 2, Flyers 1 (F/SO) (at PHI)
- Jan. 8, 2020 - Flyers 3, Capitals 2 (at PHI)
- Feb. 8, 2020 - Flyers 7, Capitals 2 (at WSH)
Flyers Leaders vs. Capitals
- Claude Giroux - 44 GP, 22 G, 22 A, 44 P
- Jake Voracek - 38 GP, 15 G, 18 A, 33 P
- Sean Couturier - 32 GP, 8 G, 15 A, 23 P
- Brian Elliott - 18 GP, 9-7-0, 3.16 GAA, .893 SV%

Where to Watch
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic/97.3 ESPN

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN and Flyers editor for SportsTalkPhilly.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.