Flyers-Capitals: Game 52 Preview

Kevin Durso

February 26 2022

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor

For many games on this current streak, the Flyers have been in close games and either found a way to surrender a lead late or come up just short. It happened twice in short order to start the week, bringing their current winless streak to six games.

Just last Thursday, the Flyers had a 3-2 lead with under four minutes to play against the Washington Capitals, only to have it slip away in the final minutes of a 5-3 loss. The two teams meet again on Saturday afternoon.

Game time is 12:30 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Washington Capitals	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	48	16	22	38	Alex Ovechkin	51	32	31	63
Cam Atkinson	51	17	20	37	Evgeny Kuznetsov	50	15	34	49
Travis Konecny	49	8	23	31	John Carlson	49	10	30	40
Scott Laughton	48	10	13	23	Tom Wilson	49	15	19	34
James van Riemsdyk	51	11	9	20	Dmitry Orlov	49	7	17	24

Joel Farabee makes his return to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 20. Farabee has 11 goals in 33 games this season, including three in his previous 10 games prior to injury.

Joe Snively has just 10 NHL games under his belt, but since scoring his first NHL goal on Feb. 10, he continues to find his game at this level. Snively has four goals and five points in his last five games, including scoring a goal against the Flyers last Thursday.

Carter Hart gets back in goal for the Flyers after missing a pair of games with an eye infection. Hart last played on Feb. 15 in the 5-4 overtime loss to the Penguins, making 29 saves on 34 shots. Hart was scheduled to face Carolina earlier this week before being pulled due to the eye infection.

Ilya Samsonov will get the start in goal for Washington. Samsonov allowed four goals on 21 shots in the loss to the Rangers on Thursday. Against the Flyers last Thursday, he allowed three goals on 33 shots in what ultimately became a win, despite giving up a go-ahead goal with 3:51 remaining in the third period. Prior to the loss on Thursday, Samsonov had won three of his last four starts.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Sean Couturier (injury), Ryan Ellis (injury), Nate Thompson (injury), Kevin Hayes (injury), Wade Allison (injury), Morgan Frost (healthy), Max Willman (healthy), Kevin Connauton (healthy)

Capitals Scratches: Anthony Mantha (injury), Vitek Vanecek (injury), Brett Leason (healthy), Matt Irwin (healthy), Michal Kempny (healthy), Daniel Sprong (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: Farabee and Derick Brassard make their return to the lineup. Morgan Frost and Max Willman will come out of the lineup as a result. The rest of the lineup remains the same.
Capitals: There are no anticipated changes to the Washington lineup from last game.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (30th), Capitals (28th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (26th), Capitals (17th)
Recent History vs. Capitals
- Feb. 17, 2022 – Capitals 5, Flyers 3 (at PHI)
- Nov. 6, 2021 – Flyers 2, Capitals 1 (at WSH)
Flyers Leaders vs. Capitals
- Claude Giroux – 55 GP, 23 G, 27 A, 50 P
- Cam Atkinson – 29 GP, 12 G, 8 A, 20 P
- Gerry Mayhew – 2 GP, 2 G, 0 A, 2 P
- Carter Hart – 6 GP, 2-3-1, 2.89 GAA, .907 SV%
Milestone Watch
- Derick Brassard needs two goals to reach 200 for his career.
- Claude Giroux needs four points to reach 900 for his career.