Flyers Miss Opportunity in Loss to Capitals

Last Tuesday, the Philadelphia Flyers let a golden opportunity to get back in the playoff race go by the wayside. That seemed to be the dagger, until it suddenly wasn't with another three-game winning streak.

This Tuesday, the narrative was the same. The Flyers got plenty of help, but couldn't take advantage of it in a 6-4 loss to the Washington Capitals.

How It Happened

The Capitals opened up a 2-0 lead in the first period. With just over five minutes to play in the period, Tom Wilson scored his 26th of the season with a snipe off the rush. With 1:25 to play in the period, Alex Ovechkin cleaned up a loose puck in front for his 30th goal of the season.

The Flyers responded with a pair of goals early in the second. Travis Sanheim scored his ninth goal of the season just 39 seconds into the period, that was awarded following a successful Flyers' challenge for goalie interference. Then Carl Grundstrom tied the game off a nice feed by Trevor Zegras at 4:36.

But the Capitals answered back at 6:58 on the power play. Jakob Chychrun scored off a face-off to make it 3-2.

Ryan Leonard added another power-play goal with 2:23 left in the second to restore the two-goal lead for Washington through two periods.

The Flyers got back to within one just 33 seconds into the third as Christian Dvorak scored his 16th goal of the season. But the Capitals got it right back at 3:47 on Ovechkin's second of the game to make it 5-3.

Again, the Flyers trimmed the lead to one on a deflection goal by Denver Barkey, his fifth of the season. That was as close as the Flyers would get, as Wilson scored his second of the game into an empty net with 1:04 to play to cap the scoring.

Box Score

1st Period

WSH Tom Wilson (26) (Pierre-Luc Dubois, Rasmus Sandin) 14:59
WSH Alex Ovechkin (30) (Matt Roy, Connor McMichael) 18:35

2nd Period

PHI Travis Sanheim (9) (Travis Konecny, Christian Dvorak) 0:39
PHI Carl Grundstrom (9) (Trevor Zegras) 4:36
WSH Jakob Chychrun (24) PP (Ryan Leonard, Dubois) 6:58
WSH Leonard (16) PP (Dubois, Chychrun) 17:37

3rd Period

PHI Dvorak (16) (Konecny, Sanheim) 0:33
WSH Ovechkin (31) (McMichael, Chychrun) 3:47
PHI Denver Barkey (5) (Rasmus Ristolainen, Noah Cates) 7:52
WSH Wilson (27) EN (Unassisted) 18:56

By the Numbers

Shots: Flyers: 25, Capitals: 18
Power Play: Flyers: 0-for-4, Capitals: 2-for-3
Faceoffs: Flyers: 54.4%, Capitals: 45.6%
Goalies: PHI Dan Vladar: 12 saves on 17 shots, WSH Logan Thompson: 21 saves on 25 shots

Key Performers

⭐ Alex Ovechkin — A vintage game from the Great Eight, who scored twice in what could be his final game against the Flyers. If it is, he would finish with 54 goals in all against the Flyers in his career.

⭐⭐ Tom Wilson — His opening goal and physicality really set the tone in this one. It seemed from the start the Flyers weren't able to match Washington physically, and Wilson provided the spark on offense as well.

⭐⭐⭐ Rasmus Ristolainen — Ristolainen was everywhere, especially in the third period. Easily one of his strongest games since the trade deadline.

The Takeaway

This was just a night where the Flyers couldn't get out of their own way. Too many mistakes. Too many costly penalties. Losing the special teams battle. Give them credit for battling back twice and being right in the game to the end, but regulation losses all count the same. And this one especially hurts when you look around the standings. The Flyers didn't lose any ground, which has to be the positive of the night, but they missed a huge opportunity to gain, and that could be what hurts the most here.