Flyers-Capitals: Game 67 Preview

Kevin Durso

March 6 2019

(Photo: Kate Frese)

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

Despite being down two forwards for the majority of the game, the Flyers emerged with a victory against the Islanders, the team in second place in the Metropolitan Division.

On Wednesday night, the division leaders come to town, as the Flyers face the Washington Capitals.

Game time is at 7:30 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Washington Capitals	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	66	19	51	70	Alex Ovechkin	65	45	30	75
Sean Couturier	64	27	34	61	Nicklas Backstrom	65	15	46	61
Jake Voracek	65	18	41	59	Evgeny Kuznetsov	60	17	42	59
Travis Konecny	66	21	21	42	John Carlson	65	10	47	57
James van Riemsdyk	50	19	16	35	T.J. Oshie	55	21	21	42

Player to Watch
11 Travis Konecny	8 Alex Ovechkin
Last 5 Games: 3 G, 2 A, 5 P, +3	Last 5 Games: 2 G, 3 A, 5 P, +1

Travis Konecny has had the scoring touch again in the last two games, scoring three goals and showing a lot of sides to his game, including a physical and protective quality. With five points in his last five games, Konecny needs to be a catalyst in the lineup, especially if the Flyers are down a couple of forwards again.

Whether it's on the power play or at even strength, Alex Ovechkin is always a threat. He's already at 45 goals on the season, well on his way to another 50-goal season.

Goalie Matchup
37 Brian Elliott	70 Braden Holtby
20 GP, 9-7-1, 2.50 GAA, .920 SV%	47 GP, 24-16-4, 2.94 GAA, .909 SV%

Brian Elliott came up 4:45 short of a shutout against the Islanders, but looked solid once again. His resurgence since returning from injury has kept the Flyers alive in the playoff race. He gets another start on Wednesday night.

Braden Holtby will be in goal for the Capitals on Wednesday night. Holtby has won each of his last three starts and five of his last seven starts, including a shootout win over the Rangers on Sunday where he stopped 22 of 24 shots.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Injuries: Jake Voracek, Carter Hart, Michal Neuvirth

Scratches: Andrew MacDonald, Sam Morin

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
23 Oskar Lindblom	14 Sean Couturier	28 Claude Giroux
12 Michael Raffl	19 Nolan Patrick	11 Travis Konecny
25 James van Riemsdyk	21 Scott Laughton	38 Ryan Hartman
27 Justin Bailey	44 Phil Varone	10 Corban Knight
Defense
9 Ivan Provorov	6 Travis Sanheim
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	61 Phil Myers
8 Robert Hagg	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
37 Brian Elliott

Lineup Notes

Jake Voracek remains out of the lineup with a lower-body injury. Justin Bailey gets into the lineup after being called up. Nolan Patrick is a game-time decision, but took the morning skate. If all feels well, he should play and that would keep the Flyers at 12 forwards and six defensemen. If Patrick is unable to go, Andrew MacDonald will be in the lineup as a seventh defenseman.

Capitals Projected Lineup

Scratches: Dmitrij Jaskin, Chandler Stephenson, Christian Djoos

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
8 Alex Ovechkin	92 Evgeny Kuznetsov	43 Tom Wilson
13 Jakub Vrana	19 Nicklas Backstrom	77 T.J. Oshie
62 Carl Hagelin	20 Lars Eller	10 Brett Connolly
65 Andre Burakovsky	26 Nic Dowd	72 Travis Boyd
Defense
6 Michal Kempny	74 John Carlson
9 Dmitry Orlov	2 Matt Niskanen
44 Brooks Orpik	3 Nick Jensen
Goalie
70 Braden Holtby

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (20th, 14th at home), Capitals (T-10th, 24th on road)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (27th, T-22nd at home), Capitals (T-23rd, 19th on road)
Recent History vs. Capitals
- Jan. 8, 2019 – Capitals 5, Flyers 3 (at WSH)
Flyers Leaders vs. Capitals
- Claude Giroux – 38 GP, 19 G, 19 A, 38 P
- James van Riemsdyk – 27 GP, 7 G, 11 A, 18 P
- Sean Couturier – 26 GP, 6 G, 11 A, 17 P
- Brian Elliott – 15 GP, 8-5-0, 3.05 GAA, .895 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Jake Voracek needs two points to reach 500 as a Flyer.