Jason Akeson scored the go-ahead goal in the second period that held up until the final minute of regulation. The Flyers lost to the Capitals in a shootout, 3-2, to close the preseason. (Photo by Amy Irvin/38Photography)
The Flyers preseason closed the way it began. While the Flyers experienced success on home ice against the Capitals in the preseason opener, another group of Flyers opened the preseason in Toronto with a shootout loss. The two combined on Thursday night.
After leading most of the game, a late goal in regulation by Eric Fehr evened the score and forced overtime and a subsequent shootout. The Capitals scored the only goals of the shootout to hand the Flyers a 3-2 loss at Verizon Center.
The Flyers opened the scoring in the first as Mark Streit picked up his NHL-leading eighth point of the preseason with a goal at 13:42.
The Capitals would tie the game in the second at 9:25 as Andre Burakovsky beat Steve Mason with a slap shot from the slot.
Just 33 seconds later, Jason Akeson would tip a Nick Grossmann shot from the point past Justin Peters to give the Flyers the lead back.
The Flyers held that lead into the closing moments of the third. But with 1:02 remaining in the third, Fehr burried a rebound to even the score and force overtime.
Peters and Mason played the entire game for their respective teams. Mason stopped 18 of 20 shots. Peters stopped 25 of 27 shots.
Following a scoreless overtime, the game went to a shootout. The Capitals scored twice to seal the win as Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Zunetsov beat Mason. Jake Voracek and Akeson were stopped in their attempts.
The Flyers closed the preseason with a 3-3-2 record. The team will now embark on a team bonding trip on Friday in Cape Cod leading up to the season opener.
The next time the Flyers take the ice will be for the season opener in Boston on Wednesday night as they face the Bruins. The opening face-off is at 7:30 p.m.
Kevin Durso is the lead beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
