Flyers defeat Capitals 3-1; split season series

For the second time this week, in a home-and-home to finish the season series, the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Washington Capitals. Finishing the season series on a high note, a 3-1 win is music to the ears.

It all began with Scott Laughton on the powerplay in the first period. He broke the ice, providing an early lead for the Flyers on the road. Eleven seconds into the man advantage, he deflected a shot by Tony DeAngelo, 1-0. Interestingly, the 29th-ranked powerplay unit is worse on the road, where they struck first.

“Any guy loves being on the powerplay; you get all the puck touches, it gives you a little confidence in your five-on-five game. Pretty much every guy’s played it at some point in their career, whether it was junior or before that. I didn’t play it much here in the last seven-eight years. I’m trying to make the most of my opportunity, contribute as much as I can, and it’s going in right now.”

Scott Laughton; 1/14/2023

During the later stages of the first period, Alexander Ovechkin notched the equalizer. Morgan Frost had a costly turnover, allowing Ovechkin to reach his 810th career goal. In the final minute and a half, the Flyers squandered their lead, 1-1. The goal tied Ovechkin for the most 30+ goal seasons in NHL history.

In the second, James van Riemsdyk rewarded his line for putting on a forechecking clinic. Frost collected the puck along the boards and chipped to Owen Tippett. Darcy Kuemper squared Tippett, but van Riemsdyk was camping along the extended goal line, potting the eventual game-winner, 2-1.

“As the year’s gone, he’s [Tippet] definitely got better and better. He’s taken this opportunity; he’s got to play more minutes, more powerplay time, stuff like that, and he’s really ran with it. It’s probably the first time in his career that he’s gotten that opportunity. It’s nice to see him take that and run with it; he’s been super dynamic for us and really created a lot for us.”

James van Riemsdyk; 1/14/2023

A minute later, Wade Allison added another. Kevin Hayes attempted to maneuver the puck past Kuemper but stayed with it behind the net. Discombobulated, with the rest of the Capitals, Hayes centered to Allison to extend the lead, 3-1. It’s the second in three games for Allison.

On special teams, the Flyers converted one of three powerplay chances and were successful in all three penalty kills. Improving to 18-18-7, they’re six points out of the second wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference.

Konecny’s point streak ends

On the road, a point streak came to an end. Travis Konecny had a couple of shots on goal and an opportunity to score on an empty net to drown out regulation but missed.

More importantly, the team scoring leader will be satisfied with another victory in 2023, evening the series against the Metropolitan Division rival.

Penalty Kill (+)

The Capitals’ powerplay ranks 17th in the NHL but can be streaky. Tonight, they were shut down by the Flyers’ penalty kill, withstanding all pressure to the tune of a 3/3 finish.

“Our PK has done a really good job this last stretch. They have a lot of good weapons on their team and we didn’t really let them get set up. That was a big part tonight, denying their entries.”

Carter Hart; 1/14/2023

The ‘power kill’ is consistently improving, now ranked 18th in the NHL.

Wade Allison (+)

Over the last five games, Allison scored three goals. On the road in Washington, he was very active.

Allison scored a goal, banged into the Capitals for six hits, and denied six shots in 11:12 of ice time.

He missed multiple weeks due to injury in 2022-2023 but continues to accentuate his limited minutes. He’s quite the contributor on the third line featuring physical play and relentless forechecking. Getting into the dirty areas rewarded Allison with the insurance marker in the second period.

Up Next

The Philadelphia Flyers are back on the ice on Monday afternoon against the Boston Bruins. The puck drops at 1pm.

(AP Photo/Nick Wass)