Flyers vs. Capitals: Game 42 Preview

With Monday’s 4-0 win in Buffalo, 41 games are officially in the books on the 2022-23 season for the Flyers. As the second half of the season begins, they find themselves stuck in the middle.

The Flyers are still nine points out of a playoff spot, despite their recent run of five wins in the last six games, but have also put some distance between themselves and the bottom of the Eastern Conference and the NHL standings as a whole – 13 points ahead of Columbus in the East and 15 points ahead of Chicago league-wide.

They take the ice for the first time in the second half of the season to start a home-and-home against the Washington Capitals.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Travis Konecny‘s hot streak continued on Monday with a pair of assists. While it snapped a six-game goal scoring streak, it extended his points streak to nine games. He has nine goals and 17 points in that time.

At this point, everything time the Capitals are in town or vice versa, the Alex Ovechkin watch is on. When the Flyers last faced the Capitals on Dec. 7, Ovechkin scored two empty-net goals to reach 795 goals for his career. Since then, he’s scored another 14 goals to reach 809 for his career, taking over sole possession of second place on the all-time goal scoring list and starting his chase for Wayne Gretzky‘s record of 894. Only 85 more to tie the Great One.

Carter Hart gets the start in goal for the Flyers. Hart struggled in his last start on Sunday against Toronto, allowing six goals on 35 shots in a loss in just his second start since returning from injury. 

Darcy Kuemper is expected to start for Washington. Kuemper has a 4-0-2 record since returning to the Capitals lineup on Dec. 22, including a pair of shutout wins, most recently on Sunday against Columbus.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Sean Couturier (injury), Tanner Laczynski (injury), Justin Braun (healthy), Kieffer Bellows (healthy)

Capitals Scratches: Carl Hagelin (injury), Connor Brown (injury), John Carlson (injury), Beck Malenstyn (injury), Anthony Mantha (healthy), Nicolas Aube-Kubel (healthy), Matt Irwin (healthy)

Lineup Notes

• Flyers: The Flyers are going with the same lineup as in Buffalo on Monday.
• Capitals: The Capitals shuffled lines some on Tuesday, but the group of players in the lineup will remain the same as Sunday. In that game, the Capitals welcomed back Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson to the lineup for the first time this season.

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (30th), Capitals (16th)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (19th), Capitals (9th)
• Recent History vs. Capitals
  • Dec. 7, 2022 – Capitals 4, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
  • Nov. 23, 2022 – Capitals 3, Flyers 2 (F/OT) (at WSH)
• Flyers Leaders vs. Capitals
  • James van Riemsdyk: 47 GP, 14 G, 16 A, 30 P
  • Scott Laughton: 30 GP, 11 G, 1 A, 12 P
  • Kevin Hayes: 35 GP, 8 G, 13 A, 21 P
  • Travis Konecny: 28 GP, 6 G, 5 A, 11 P
  • Carter Hart: 9 GP, 3-5-1, 2.81 GAA, .906 SV%
• Milestone Watch
  • Patrick Brown plays in his 100th NHL game tonight.
  • Travis Sanheim needs two assists to reach 100 for his career.

Where to Watch

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: Flyers Broadcast Network