The last time these two teams faced-off against one another it was game six of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, where the Washington Capitals ended the Philadelphia Flyers’ season. The Flyers will look to strike revenge on the team that ended it all for them last year in a hard-fought first round series. This will be the first of four meetings between the rivals this season and the last home game for the Flyers before the holiday break.
As for the Capitals, they were a bit of a different team when they eliminated the Flyers last spring. They were the overwhelming favorite in the series as the Eastern Conference’s first seed. Right now, they find themselves one point behind the Flyers for the first wildcard spot, however, they do hold four games in hand.
Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Wells Fargo Center – 8:00 p.m. EST
Broadcast channels – NBCSN; 97.5 The Fanatic
2016-17 Season Series: First Matchup
Washington Capitals: 19-8-3 – 41 Points
Road Record: 8-3-3
Hot Players: Matt Niskanen, Justin Williams
Scratches: Taylor Chorney, Brett Connolly, Zachary Sanford
Injuries: None
Projected lines:
Forwards:
Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Justin Williams
Marcus Johansson — Nicklas Backstrom — T.J. Oshie
Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Andre Burakovsky
Daniel Winnik — Jay Beagle — Tom Wilson
Defense:
Karl Alzner — John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik — Nate Schmidt
Starting Goaltender:
Brayden Holtby
Philadelphia Flyers: 19-11-4 – 42 Points
Home Record: 11-5-3
Hot Players: Jake Voracek, Claude Giroux
Scratches: Boyd Gordon, Nick Schultz
Injuries: Michal Neuvirth (lower body), Matt Read (upper body), Sean Couturier (lower body), Mark Streit (shoulder)
Projected lines:
Forwards:
Michael Raffl — Claude Giroux — Jakub Voracek
Travis Konecny — Brayden Schenn — Wayne Simmonds
Chris VandeVelde — Pierre-Edouard Bellemare — Roman Lyubimov
Taylor Leier — Nick Cousins — Dale Weise
Defense:
Ivan Provorov — Andrew MacDonald
Brandon Manning — Shayne Gostisbehere
Michael Del Zotto — Radko Gudas
Starting Goaltender:
Steve Mason
Game Notes
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]1)[/miptheme_dropcap] The Flyers will try to right the ship tonight after dropping their last two games after winning 10 straight. They lost the last two in games they should’ve won, and were winning during their streak. Tonight will be a measuring stick game to see just how far this team’s really come since sneaking into the playoffs last year and losing to the number one-seeded Capitals.
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]2)[/miptheme_dropcap] The Capitals have been impressive going into the opposing teams’ barns this year. They sport an 8-3-3 record on the road and have been rolling of late going 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. Washington last played on Saturday night falling 2-1 at home to the Montreal Canadiens in regulation, so they will be looking to bounce back tonight against the Flyers.
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]3)[/miptheme_dropcap] With the Metropolitan Division being so tight and competitive, this game tonight against the Capitals and tomorrow against the New Jersey Devils are so important in coming away with wins in regulation in order to begin separating themselves from other teams.
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]4)[/miptheme_dropcap] Steve Mason will be back between the pipes for the Flyers tonight, who played extremely well, once again, in the shootout loss to Nashville on Monday. He will look to keep his strong play going with Michal Neuvirth nearing a return from a knee injury that’s kept him out over the last month.