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Wrap: Flyers Grit out 2-1 OT Win in Washington |
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WRAP: FLYERS GRIT OUT 2-1 OT WIN IN WASHINGTON
Playing for the third time in four nights and on the second half of a home-and-road set of back-to-back matinees, the Philadelphia Flyers dug deep and came up with a gritty 2-1 overtime win over the Metro Division leading Washington Capitals on Sunday afternoon at the Capital One Center in DC.
The Caps, who came into the game with the most home wins in the NHL, controlled the majority of the play and also backchecked hard. The Flyers bent but didn't break, battled for every foot of real estate on both sides of the puck and got the saves they needed to have; the key elements of finding a way to win games such as these.
Michael Raffl (9th goal of the season) scored in regulation. Travis Konecny (8th goal of the season) won the game in the opening half-minute of overtime. Valtteri Filppula (11th assist), Andrew MacDonald (8th assist), Ivan Provorov (15th assist) and Sean Couturier (21st assist) chipped in a helper apiece.
Brian Elliott did not seem sharp early but battled for saves and then found a groove. He finished with 27 saves on 28 shots to earn the win.
Alex Ovechkin (power play, 29th) notched the lone goal, tying the game at 1-1 late in the second period. John Carlson (31st assist), T.J. Oshie (18th assist) got the assists.
Braden Holtby took the loss in goal for Washington. He stopped 21 of 23 Flyers shots.
The Flyers went 0-for-3 on the power play. They were 2-for-3 on the penalty kill, with a strong late third period penalty kill serving a big role in the team securing one point before Konecny got them a second point in OT.
1ST PERIOD SYNOPSIS
The Flyers emerged from the first period with a scoreless deadlock, despite not generating much attack (including on the game's first power play) and not being heavy enough on the puck and sloppy in passing and clears. However, they worked hard, defended well positionally and managed one extended puck possession shift with the Nolan Patrick line on the ice on what was an especially effective shift by Jordan Weal.
Philly got lucky twice in the opening stanza. After Ivan Provorov pinched in for a seemingly open shot but got stripped of the puck from behind, Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov broke out on a 2-on-1 rush. Ovechkin fired off a shot, which produced a juicy rebound for Kuznetsov with the left half of the net open. However, Kuznetsov sent the puck directly into Elliott.
In the final minute of the opening stanza, Ovechkin got himself wide open at point blank range, took a pass-out on the tape and fired off a quick shot. Elliott robbed him with the left pad.
First period shots were 10-8 Capitals. Travis Konecny had one shot on goal but neither Sean Couturier nor Claude Giroux could find much open ice. Tyrell Goulbourne, who had eight shifts and 3:57 of ice time total on Saturday saw 3:03 of ice time on six first period shifts because he had fresh legs and his line with Scott Laughton and Jori Lehterä generated some lengthy board scrums in the Washington zone.
2ND PERIOD SYNOPSIS
Tom Wilson tripped up Provorov just 10 seconds into the second period, giving the Flyers' their second power play. Gostisbehere had a great keep on a feel clear but Simmonds wasn't quite able to tuck home a loose puck in front. Eventually, John Carlson got clear.
After the Caps failed to get a puck in deep, the Laughton line countered. Holtby made a glove save on Lehterä. On the net shift, Provorov nearly scored on a confident pinch and wraparound attempt.
At 5:40, Andre Burakovsky pulled off a nice toe-drag and shot from the high right slot. Elliott had his first significant save of the 2nd period.
The Flyers grabbed a 1-0 lead at 6:12. After blocked and errant shot attempts in front, the Flyers' Filppula claimed the puck behind the net and passed out to Raffl in the left circle between the dot and lower hash mark. Raffl's shot went off the top of Holtby's right pad and found the short side of the net. The assists went to Filppula and MacDonald.
After the Flyers' goal, the Caps brought the pressure in controlling the next two shifts of the period.
The Flyers went on the penalty kill for the first time at 14:15 as Goulbourne was called for hooking Jay Beagle. Philly staged a good penalty kill.
Provorov then took a clever pass from Couturier to beat Kuznetsov and counter with numbers. Ovechkin made a good backcheck to short-circuit the threat.
Ovechkin caught Elliott a bit out of position sliding too far laterally and nearly beat him with a shot from the left circle but fired it over the net.
A bad drop pas by Lehterä created a 3-on-2 counter for the Caps but they couldn't convert. On a Caps line change, Flyers defensemen Robert Hägg and MacDonald found a swath of open ice and led the rush. On the next shift, Devante Smith-Pelly had a look from the top of the right circle but, with Shayne Gostisbehere coming out to pressure, fired wide.
After missing a poke check attempt on a pass in front, Elliott made a lucky but spectacular skate save just in front of the goal line on Nicklas Bäckström.
The Caps got their second power play at the 19:00 mark on a Giroux slashing penalty. They made quick work of it. Ovechkin set up shop in his favorite shooting spot at the top of the left circle, took a pass from Carlson and ripped a shot that went a bit end-over-end but with lots of velocity high to the long side with Radko Gudas inadvertently screening Elliott. The secondary assist went to Oshie as Washington tied the game at 19:44.
Second period shots were 10-10 (20-18 Caps overall through 40 minutes).
3RD PERIOD SYNOPSIS
A potential 2-on-1 for Couturier and Ovechkin was foiled in the opening minute as the Caps recovered with continued good back pressure and Matt Niskanen broke up the play.
Giroux got drilled in the back into boards in the offensive corner by Dmitry Orlov on what looked to be worthy of a boarding minor but went uncalled. He was smarting for the rest of his shift.
The Caps, as they had done all game, kept shooting for the short side from sharp angles. Elliott thwarted Bäckström. Two shifts later, after a big hit on Voracek in the defensive zone, Ovechkin created a 2-on-1 in the offensive zone. Gostisbehere's quick stick broke up the pass.
Four-on-four play ensued at 4:49 after Voracek and Kuznetsov were boxed for unsportsmanlike conduct for a neutral zone confrontation. Gostisbehere blocked a shot off his foot and skated a bit gingerly before shaking it off. Elliott made a pair of tough saves, including one right in front for Oshie.
Voracek missed a poke check on a puck-dragging Orlov at the defensive blueline -- if he'd gotten it, Voracek would have had a breakaway -- and Elliott ended up having to make a brilliant save on the defenseman as he skate in .
Oshie tripped Laughton behind the Washington net at 8:20. The Flyers went on their third power play. A Weal deflection of a Patrick shot from up high was the better of the two shots the Flyers generated. Washington caught a break on a too-many-men that went uncalled after the penalty ended.
Konecny gained the offensive zone and Couturier ripped a one-timer on net from high in the Washington zone with a little over eight minutes left. With about six minute left, Patrick and his line had a very strong shift in Washington territory as Patrick did strong work behind the net.
The Caps got their third power play as Raffl was sent off for tripping as Niskanen fell over his stick at 14:40. Bäckström broke his stick on an early wrist shot attempt, and the Flyers got a clear. A second clear came after Lehterä denied an Oshie one-timer and Filppula backhanded the puck to safety. The Caps went offside with 20 second left. Elliott stopped an Orlov shot aimed short side. The Flyers won the draw and Provorov cleared it to end the kill.
A Niskanen right point shot off a right circle faceoff nearly trickled home but Elliott batted it out of harm's way. Ovechkin stepped right around Gudas and had a great chance with about 1:10 left in the period.
Giroux picked off a diagonal pass in the Flyers zone and countered the other way. He was tied up enough by Orpik for the puck to trickle in on net.
Third period shots were 8-4 Caps (28-22 Caps overall).
OVERTIME SYNOPSIS
Konecny missed the net on a backhander in the opening seconds. Provorov retrieved it and the Flyers pushed the puck back in the attack zone. Konecny beat Carlson, cut over the middle and wristed a shot that found the back of the net to win the game at the 27-second mark. Provorov and Couturier got the assists.
Konecny's goal was the lone shot of OT; final shots were 28-23 in Washington's favor.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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