Flyers-Capitals Preview: Chasing Gr-8-ness

Thursday night will mark Alex Ovechkin's 77th career game against the Flyers. As the Washington Capitals come to Philadelphia for the final time this season, it may just be the final time Ovechkin plays in Philadelphia as the second-highest goal scorer in NHL history.

Ovechkin is just 17 goals shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky's goal record of 894. Ovechkin has scored 50 goals in his career against the Flyers.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Washington Capitals	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	55	21	37	58	Dylan Strome	53	15	36	51
Matvei Michkov	53	14	20	34	Aliaksei Protas	53	22	23	45
Owen Tippett	52	14	16	30	Pierre-Luc Dubois	53	12	30	42
Scott Laughton	52	10	15	25	Alex Ovechkin	37	25	14	39
Sean Couturier	52	8	17	25	Tom Wilson	53	22	17	39

Scott Laughton has good career numbers against the Capitals, scoring 13 goals in his career against them. Laughton has gone four straight games without a point after returning to the lineup last Monday with two points against the Devils.

Alex Ovechkin's chase for NHL history continues its course through Philadelphia. Ovechkin has scored in three straight games entering Thursday, reach 878 career goals in pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record.

Ivan Fedotov gets the start for the Flyers. Fedotov made 25 saves on 28 shots in a loss to the Islanders last Thursday in his last start. Fedotov took the loss against the Capitals on Oct. 23, allowing four goals on 23 shots..

Charlie Lindgren gets the start for the Capitals. Lindgren made 29 saves on 34 shots in an overtime loss against Ottawa last Thursday in his last start. Lindgren has just one win since Dec. 20, a span of eight starts. Lindgren got the win over the Flyers on Oct. 22, makin 17 saves on 18 shots.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Ryan Poehling (injury), Egor Zamula (injury), Owen Tippett (injury), Rasmus Ristolainen (injury), Andrei Kuzmenko (healthy), Jakob Pelletier (healthy), Aleksei Kolosov (healthy)

Capitals Scratches: Sonny Milano (injury), Dylan McIlrath (healthy), Alexander Alexeyev (healthy), Jakub Vrana (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier remain unavailable. Head coach John Tortorella said both players are in Toronto and paperwork is completed, but their flight to Philadelphia was cancelled due to weather. Owen Tippett remains out with injury. Rasmus Ristolainen is a game-time decision.
Capitals: No lineup changes are being made by the Capitals.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (15.4% - 28th), Capitals (22.5% - 13th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (77.9% - 20th), Capitals (83.5% - 3rd)
Recent History vs. Capitals
- Oct. 23, 2024 - Capitals 6, Flyers 3 (at WSH)
- Oct. 22, 2024 - Capitals 4, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
Team Leaders vs. Capitals
- Matvei Michkov - 2 GP, 2 G, 1 A, 3 P
- Sean Couturier - 47 GP, 13 G, 20 A, 33 P
- Owen Tippett - 13 GP, 4 G, 4 A, 8 P
- Ivan Fedotov - 1 GP, 0-1-0, 4.11 GAA, .826 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Sean Couturier needs one goal to reach 200 for his career.