Flyers-Capitals: Game 42 Preview

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The trade deadline has come and gone. For the Flyers, there are minimal changes for now, as they bid farewell to two players on expiring contracts at the end of the season in Michael Raffl and Erik Gustafsson. They also locked up Scott Laughton for the next five seasons.

The Washington Capitals, however, were busy. In addition to acquiring Raffl from the Flyers, they also made a blockbuster deal with Detroit, acquiring Anthony Mantha for Jakub Vrana and Richard Panik, plus a pair of draft picks. While Raffl is out for Tuesday's game between the two, Mantha will make his debut with the Capitals.

Game time is at 7 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers GP G A P Washington Capitals GP G A P
James van Riemsdyk 41 13 20 33 Nicklas Backstrom 42 13 29 42
Jake Voracek 38 7 25 32 Alex Ovechkin 38 21 16 37
Claude Giroux 39 11 20 31 John Carlson 42 10 25 35
Sean Couturier 30 12 18 30 T.J. Oshie 41 14 19 33
Joel Farabee 40 15 15 30 Tom Wilson 33 10 15 25

Players To Watch 4-13

Joel Farabee got a goal and an assist on Sunday, finally breaking through for a goal for the first time in 10 games. Farabee continues to lead the team in goals this season and has emerged as a player that you can build the offensive group around. It will be worth watching to see if that goal can get him heating up again.
 
Alex Ovechkin continues to get the job done, and has increased his goal total to 21 on the season with 14 games remaining for Washington. A 30-goal season is still very much on the table for the Capitals captain and he looks to keep it going against the Flyers. Ovechkin has scored in all four games against the Flyers this season, totaling five goals.
 
Goalie Matchup 4-13

Brian Elliott is expected to get back in goal on Tuesday. Elliott made 30 saves in Saturday's win against Boston and it was his fourth in his last five games.

Ilya Samsonov gets the start for Washington. While Samsonov has taken the loss in two of his last three starts, he did pick up three straight wins against the Flyers in March. 

Projected Lineups

Flyers Line Combos 4-13

Flyers Scratches: Morgan Frost (injury), Phil Myers (healthy)

 
Opponent Line Combos 4-13

Capitals Scratches: Michael Raffl (injury), Trevor van Riemsdyk (healthy)

Lineup Notes

  • Flyers: No changes are expected to the Flyers lineup ahead of Tuesday's game.
  • Capitals: Washington's only changes to the lineup come with Monday's new additions. 

Game Notes

  • Power Play: Flyers (T-16th), Capitals (4th)
  • Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-28th), Capitals (8th)
  • Recent History vs. Capitals
    • Feb. 7, 2021 – Flyers 7, Capitals 4 (at WSH)
    • March 7, 2021 – Capitals 3, Flyers 1 (at PHI)
    • March 11, 2021 – Capitals 5, Flyers 3 (at PHI)
    • March 13, 2021 – Capitals 5, Flyers 4 (at PHI)
  • Flyers Leaders vs. Capitals
    • Claude Giroux – 49 GP, 23 G, 23 A, 46 P
    • Sean Couturier – 37 GP, 10 G, 19 A, 29 P
    • Jake Voracek – 43 GP, 15 G, 22 A, 37 P
    • Brian Elliott – 21 GP, 10-8-0, 3.24 GAA, .888 SV%
  • Milestone Watch
    • Claude Giroux needs two power-play goals to pass Eric Lindros for 8th all-time in Flyers history.
    • Claude Giroux needs four points to pass Brian Propp for 3rd all-time in Flyers history.

Where to Watch
TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic/97.3 ESPN

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