Postgame RAV4: Flyers Conquer Capitals, 4-1

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Washington Capitals, 4-1, at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Wednesday night.

Young Washington forward Ryan Leonard (13th goal of the season) opened the scoring with a mid first period power play goal. The period was otherwise evenly played.

Early in the second period, Travis Konecny (24th) tied the score at 1-1. Later, Owen Tippett and Trevor Zegras (22nd goal) worked a give and go from the redline in and took a 2-1 lead.

During a third period 4-on-4, Jamie Drysdale (7th) opened a 3-1 edge. Tippett (21st) added a late empty net goal for added insurance.

Samuel Ersson stopped 21 of 22 shots to earn the win. In a losing cause, Logan Thompson made 19 saves on 22 shots.

FIRST PERIOD SYNOPSIS

Ersson padded aside a right circle shot from Justin Sourdif for the first save of the game. At 2:29, Ersson tracked and held a point shot from Timothy Liljegren. Washington won the ensuing faceoff. Ersson denied a shot from Dylan Strome between the circles.

At 3:00, Thompson saved a Travis Sanheim shot out of play for his first stop.

Tippett created the game's first power play at 4:16. Speed into the Washington zone in transition, Tippett was held by Liljegren as he drove toward the net. Philly failed to capitalize on the 5-on-4.

Trevor Zegras took a hooking penalty at the defensive blueline at the 9:03 mark. Rasmus Ristolainen blocked a shot from Alex Ovechkin. However, at the 9:51 mark, Leonard cut in from the boards and fired home a shot for a 1-0 lead. The assists went to Ovechkin and Pierre-Luc Dubois. It was the fourth goal the Flyers allowed in their last five PK opportunities.

Jake Chychrun hooked Zegras at 11:57 as Zegras attempted to retrieve a turnover that came out near the Caps' blueline. Trevor Van Riemsdyk blocked a shot  in the slot. Alex Bump fired a flat angle shot at the net. The penalty expired.

There was a scrum after the whistle at 14:03. Nikita Grebenkin and Brandon Duhaime received offsetting roughing minors. The teams skated at 4-on-4. With 49 seconds left, Ristolainen got his foot caught up with Rasmus Sandin and received a tripping penalty. Philly killed off the 4-on-3 and 5-on-4.

Shots: Flyers 7 - Capitals 7
Faceoffs: Flyers 8 - Capitals 9

SECOND PERIOD SYNOPSIS

Konecny knotted the game at 4:23. Taking a cross-ice pass on the right wing, Konecny's shot from the dot found the net on the blocker side. The assists went to Sanheim and Bump.

At 9:19, Ersson made a good left pad save against a Tom Wilson backhand shot from close range.

Wilson steamrolled Konecny with a big hit at 11:24 as Konecny released a pass in the offensive zone. 

On the next shift, Zegras and Tippett had an odd man rush give-and-go after Tippett poked the puck free at center-ice. Taking a return feed from Tippett, Zegras buried the shot from near the net at 12:12. Tippett and Carl Grundstrom were awarded assists.

Konecny got his stick on a stretch pass attempt but wasn't able to corral the puck. There was a scrum after the whistle at 19:35. At the horn, Wilson hit Grebenkin. Sean Couturier stepped in for his teammate.

Shots: Flyers 8 (15 overall) - Capitals 7 (14 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 9 (17 overall) - Capitals 11 (20 overall)

THIRD PERIOD SYNOPSIS

Ristolainen landed an early hit on Ovechkin. Grundstrom wasn't quite able to finish a scoring chance at the other end.

At 4:55, after Ovechkin whiffed on the puck in the right circle, Tippett put on a tremendous burst of speed and cut to the net. Thompson made the save.

Wilson and Konecny went off on matching roughing penalties at 6:09. During the 4-on-4, the Flyers put on a flurry attack. Finally, the puck came out high between the circles to Drysdale. The Flyers defenseman eluded Aliakei Protas with a toe drag and wristed a shot cleanly past Thompson. The assists went to Noah Cates and Cam York at 7:15.

Couturier received a slashing minor near the net against Dylan Strome at 8:46. Leonard hit the post. Ersson made two saves during the kill.

With 7:06 remaining in regulation, Ersson gloved and held a shot from the top of the circle. A TV timeout ensued with shots 6-4 in Washington's favor.

Tippett raced up iceet again at the 17:00 mark. Thomas stopped the medium range backhander cleanly.

The Caps pulled Thompson for an extra attacker at 17:30. Tippet bagged an empty netter at 18:57, assisted by Christian Dvorak and Cates.

Shots: Flyers 6 (21 overall) - Capitals 8 (22 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 6 (23 overall) - Capitals 12 (32 overall)

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

Alex Bump — Christian Dvorak — Travis Konecny
Denver Barkey — Noah Cates — Matvei Michkov
Carl Grundstrom  — Trevor Zegras — Owen Tippett
Nikita Grebenkin — Sean Couturier — Garnet Hathaway

Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York — Jamie Drydale
Nick Seeler -- Noah Juulsen

Samuel Ersson
{Dan Vladar]

Postgame RAV4 (RAV4 Things Revisited)

1. Konecny needs impact game

Flyers leading scorer Travis Konecny celebrated his 29th birthday on Wednesday. He stepped up at 4:23 of the second period to even up the game at one apiece. Previously, he missed the net on his first two shot attempts.

2. Special Teams reset

The Flyers' previously stout penalty kill had an off night (1-for-4) on Monday, why the power play entered the game against Washington tied for 30th in the NHL. In this game. Philly went 0-for-2 on the power play and 1-for-3 on the PK.

3. Traffic at the net

With the Flyers struggling to generate scoring chances, attacking the middle and getting traffic to the net was a must against Washington. On this night, the Flyers were more engaged than in most of their recent games.

4. Ovie Watch

Future Hockey Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin played what could be his final game in Philadelphia. He notched his 84 career point against Philly with his first period assist.