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Wrap: Flyers Defeat Caps, 5-3; Phantoms Beat Bridgeport, 3-1 |
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Flyers Defeat Capitals, 5-3
A Travis Konecny hat trick paced the Philadelphia Flyers' attack as Philly defeated the Washington Capitals, 5-3, at the Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night. Konecny tallied even strength, shorthanded and power play (empty net) goals. Scott Laughton added an early power play goal, a third period shorthanded primary assist and an assist on the late power play ENG by Konecny.
Konecny extended his current point streak to 10 straight games. In that span, he has racked up 20 points (12 goals. 8 assists). He has produced at least one point in 13 of his last 14 games (14g, 10a) and 24 of his last 27 games (20g, 18a) dating back to Nov. 2. For the season, Konecny leads the Flyers with 46 points (24g, 22a) despite missing six of the first 41 games of the season due to an upper-body injury.
Konecny became the fourth Flyers player -- and the first since Mark Recchi on Oct. 12, 2002 -- to score an even strength, power play and shorthanded goal in the same game. Recchi actually accomplished the feat twice. The other Flyers to do it were Bobby Clarke and Rick MacLeish.
With the win, the Flyers (17-18-7) moved within a win of "hockey .500" as they began the statistical second half of the 2022-23 season.
The Flyers had, by far, the better of the play through the first 40 minutes. Stellar Washington goaltending kept the game within 2-1 heading into the third period. In the final stanza, the Flyers forged a 4-1 lead but then Washington scored the next two goals to draw back within 4-3. The Capitals got themselves in penalty trouble at various untimely junctures, and the Flyers were able to finish off a two-goal victory.
Philadelphia has won six of seven games played since the NHL's leaguewide holiday break. The Capitals had been 13-3-3 dating back to December 1 but were bested on this night in the front end of a home-and-home set. The teams will rematch in Washington on Saturday as the season series concludes. Philly is 1-1-1 over the first three meetings.
The Flyers took a 2-1 lead to the first intermission. Laughton (PPG, 10th goal of the season) opened the scoring at 7:26. The Capitals tied the game in the final minute on a Garnet Hathaway tally (6th) at 19:06, only for the Flyers to respond at 19:27 on Konecny's 22nd goal of the season.
Philly controlled the play for the decided majority of a scoreless second period. Owen Tippett (13th) scored at 5:31 to establish a 3-1 edge for the Flyers at 5:31 of the third period. Laughton connected with Konecny (2nd goal of the game, 23rd of the season) on a shorthanded 2-on-1 to open a 4-1 lead. Washigton pushed back for goals by Martin Johansson (11th) at 9:18 directly off an Ivan Provorov giveaway and then a TJ Oshie goal (8th) set up by Nicklas Bäckström at 14:42. Konecny completed the hat trick (third goal of the game, 24th of the season) into an empty net on the power play with 12.3 seconds left. The goal came during delayed penalty on Washington with the teams skating at 5-on-5 with Darcy Kuemper pulled for an extra attacker.
Carter Hart earned the win with 26 saves on 29 shots on goal. Kuemper took the loss with 31 saves on 35 shots.
The Flyers went 2-for-5 on the power play. The Capitals were 0-for-1.
The Flyers will have an off day on Thursday. They will practice on Friday before going to Washington for the rematch at Capital One Arena on Saturday. The club will then practice in DC on Sunday before they face the league-leading Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Monday afternoon.
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Phantoms Beat Bridgeport, 3-1
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms (16-13-4) earned a 3-1 road victory over the free-falling Bridgeport Islanders (14-4-7) on Wednesday in the first half of a home-and-home set. Bridgeport is now winless in its last 11 games (0-8-3). The teams will rematch on Friday at the PPL Center.
With the score tied at 1-1 in the second period, the Phantoms' Max Willman put Lehigh Valley ahead to stay just as a Bridgeport power play expired at 8:27. On the play, Willman simply cleared the puck down the length of the ice from along the goal line to the left of the Phantoms' net. He got much more than just killing off the remaining PK time. One hundred eighty feet away, Ken Appleby misplayed the puck into his own net. That's a microcosm of how things have been going of late for Bridgeport.
The Phantoms, who received a late first period goal by Adam Brooks (4th) to answer to a tally by ex-Flyer/Phantom Andy Andreoff (18th), took the 2-1 lead provided by fluky Willman goal (4th) into the third period. At 18:57, Bobby Brink (2nd) made it two goals in two games since debuting with the Phantoms following offseason hip surgery.
The Phantoms went 0-for-1 on the power play. They were 2-for-2 on the power play.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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