FLYERS-CAPITALS GAME PREVIEW (3:15 AM EST)
The front end of a home-and-home set, the Philadelphia Flyers (14-15-3) are in DC to take on the Washington Capitals (17-12-3) on Sunday afternoon. Game time is 3:00 p.m. EST. The match will be televised locally on CSN Philly and nationally in Canada on NHL Network.
This is the second of five meetings between the Metropolitan Division teams this season, and the first of two in Washington. After the current home-and-home, the Flyers and Capitals will not see each other again until after the Olympic break.
On Nov. 1, the Capitals visited the Wells Fargo Center. Playing without Alexander Ovechkin, Washington laid a 7-0 whipping on the Flyers. Philly actually held the Caps without a shot for the first 15 minutes of the game, but the Flyers felt apart after Washington scored late first period and early second period goals. Starting goalie Steve Mason was pulled after Washington opened a 3-0 lead. Ray Emery came into the game.
In the third period, Washington extended the lead to 7-0. On the final goal, an already frustrated Emery was peeved that his mask had come off as the goal was being scored but play had not been stopped.
Moments after the ensuing center ice faceoff, Wayne Simmonds fought Tom Wilson in the Washington end of the ice. Immediately, Emery skated down the ice, intent on fighting Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby.
Holtby, who was working on a shutout, refused to fight and skated away from his crease. Emery forced the issue, and proceeded to thrash the other goaltender. No teammates came to their goalie's defense.
In the meantime, a full-scale line brawl developed. Vincent Lecavalier ended up suffering facial injuries that kept him out of the next two games. Earlier in the game, Steve Downie (playing his first game after being traded to the Flyers from Colorado) suffered a concussion and sinus damage with Aaron Volpatti. Downie, who got caught flush just below his left eye, ended up in the hospital.
After today's game, the teams will play the second half of the home-and-home in Philadelphia on Tuesday night. Thereafter, the Flyers will play a home-and-home with the Columbus Blue Jackets before the Christmas break.
FLYERS OUTLOOK
The Flyers are coming off a 2-1 home win over Montreal on Thursday. Michael Raffl and Claude Giroux scored even-strength goals for Philly. Mason (20 saves) carried a shutout into the final minute of regulation before Alex Galchenyuk got the Canadiens on the board.
Philly has had an up-and-down month of December, posting a 2-3-1 thus far in the month. Prior to holding the Habs to 21 shots and a single goal, the Flyers had allowed 19 goals over their previous four games. For a team that had been making defensive progress all season, the four-goal second period yielded to Dallas and the five-goal middle frame allowed in Chicago -- both of which came after shutout first periods -- represented an alarming backslide.
To regain some equilibrium, the Flyers needed a game like the one they played against Montreal. Now they need to build upon it. It is worth noting that Philly has been held to two goals or less in regulation in eight of its last 10 games.
Undisciplined penalties have been a problem all season for Philly. However, the Flyers only took one minor penalty against Montreal. For the season, the Flyers rank 12th in the NHL in penalty killing efficiency (83.5 percent). The team would do well to avoid tempting fate against the Capitals' power play.
Philly went 0-for-3 on the power play against Montreal after scoring two power play goals against Chicago. For the season, the Flyers rank 17th in the NHL at 17.7 percent efficiency on the man advantage.
On the injury front, Lecavalier (non-displaced fracture in his lower back) remains out of the Flyers lineup.
CAPITALS OUTLOOK
The Capitals have points in four straight games (3-0-1) and are 3-1-1 in December but are coming off a 3-2 road shootout loss to the Florida Panthers.
In the game against Florida, the Caps got outshot by a 41-25 margin. All regulation scoring was done in the second period. The Caps bounced back from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits on goals by Nicklas Bäckström and Joel Ward (pwer play). Phillip Grubauer made 39 regulation and overtime saves to salvage a point for his team.
Ovechkin, who exploded for four goals in a win over Tampa Bay, was held off the scoreboard in the Florida game despite skating 24:51 worth of ice time. For the season, the reigning Hart Trophy winner has 26 goals and 35 points in 30 games. Eleven of his goals have come on the power play.
The Capitals rank second in the NHL in power play efficiency, clicking at a fearsome 24.7 percent rate. They have been especially deadly on home ice, converting 20 of 67 attempts (29.8 percent). However, Washington has yielded four shorthanded goals this season. Only Edmonton (7) and Winnipeg (5) have yielded more shorties.
On the penalty kill, the Capitals rank 13th in the NHL. The team has killed 82.9 percent of its manpower disadvantages to date. Washington (117 times shorthanded) is the seventh most penalized team in the league. The Flyers are the second-most, with 133 times shorthanded.
Defenseman John Erskine, who has been sidelined since Oct. 26, is likely to be activated for today's game.
PROJECTED LINEUPS (Subject to change)
FLYERS
12 Michael Raffl - 28 Claude Giroux - 92 Jakub Voracek
19 Scott Hartnell - 10 Brayden Schenn - 17 Wayne Simmonds
24 Matt Read - 14 Sean Couturier - 9 Steve Downie
76 Chris VandeVelde - 18 Adam Hall - 36 Zac Rinaldo
44 Kimmo Timonen - 5 Braydon Coburn
8 Nicklas Grossmann - 32 Mark Streit
26 Erik Gustafsson - 22 Luke Schenn
35 Steve Mason
[29 Ray Emery]
Potential Scratches: Jay Rosehill (healthy), Vincent Lecavalier (back injury), Andrej Meszaros (healthy), Hal Gill (healthy), Chris Pronger (LTIR, post-concussion syndrome).
CAPITALS
90 Marcus Johansson - 19 Nicklas Bäckström - 8 Alex Ovechkin
16 Eric Fehr - 84 Mikhail Grabovski - 20 Troy Brouwer
25 Jason Chimera - 10 Martin Erat - 42 Joel Ward
24 Aaron Volpatti - 83 Jay Beagle - 43 Tom Wilson
27 Karl Alzner - 52 Mike Green
81 Dmitri Orlov - 74 John Carlson
88 Nate Schmidt - 61 Steven Oleksy
70 Braden Holtby/ 31 Philipp Grubauer
Possible scratches: Nate Schmidt (healthy), Alexander Urbom (healthy), Michal Neuvirth (IR, lower body), Brooks Laich (IR, groin), Jack Hillen (IR, fractured tibia).
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