Harry Lichtman
The Washington Capitals’ (32-27-7) scoring issues continued on Wednesday night. They weren’t able to generate much offense as they fell 4-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers (30-23-11).
The Capitals at least got things going in the first period. Ryan Leonard came through with a power-play goal for an early 1-0 lead.
However, things went downhill after that. The Capitals overcomplicated things and let Philadelphia take over the rest of the way.
Travis Konecny and Trevor Zegras each scored goals to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead in the middle frame. Players from both teams also got into it as far as this rivalry goes.
The Capitals tried to swing the momentum back in their favor, but were unsuccessful. Jamie Drysdale and Owen Tippett added two more tallies in the third to seal in for Philadelphia.
Next up, the Capitals continue their road set of back-to-backs as they head to Buffalo on Thursday.
Capitals Analysis
The Capitals went on the power play early on in the game, but Tom Wilson was fatigued from his previous shift. Luckily, that’s when Leonard came through on the top PP unit.
Leonard got to the slot and sniped a quick shot past Samuel Ersson nearly 10 minutes into the opening period. The 21-year-old now has 13 goals this season and extended his point streak to four games. Additionally, Leonard has 34 points, which are the fourth-most among rookies in the NHL this season.
The Capitals’ man advantage went 1-for-3 on Wednesday night, as they now have goals in three of their last four games.
Unfortunately, the second period is where things fell apart for the Capitals. Too many miscues led to Philadelphia taking advantage.
First, a wide open Konecny in the right circle fired one past Logan Thompson to tie it up at 1-1. Then, Zegras and Tippett went on a 2-on-0, as Zegras scored to make it 2-1 Philadelphia.
Things got extra chippy as usual with these two bitter rivals. Brandon Duhaime got into it with Nikita Grebenkin, while Wilson roughed up Konecny. Later on, a frustrated Rasmus Sandin threw Tippett to the ice.
Spencer Carbery tweaked the lines once again, hoping for better chemistry. However, as much as the Capitals tried to rally, they relied too much on passing instead of shooting the puck.
Down 3-1, the Capitals added an extra attacker hoping for a miracle comeback. However, Tippett sealed it with an empty-netter.
Capitals Report Card
Team: C-
The first period was strong for the Capitals, but that’s about it. The team once again struggled to find the net and relied too much on passing the puck.
Ryan Leonard: A
Leonard came through on the power play in the first period. The rookie now has 13 goals and 34 points on the season.
Timothy Liljegren: B
Liljegren was solid in his Capitals debut since being acquired from San Jose. The Swedish blueliner showed off his two-way play and helped keep Philadelphia forwards out of the crease. He ended up finishing the night with a team-leading three blocks.
Jakob Chychrun: D
It was one of the weaker nights for the Capitals’ best blueliner this season. Chychrun finished with a plus/minus of minus-4 and had one giveaway.
