Wrap: Flyers Pummel Capitals, 7-2
Two goals by the top line, two by the first power play unit, two by the fourth line and one by the third line spurred the Philadelphia Flyers to a 7-2 blowout road win over the NHL-leading Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Saturday night.
Claude Giroux snapped a four-game pointless streak and 13-game goal drought with a three-point performance (PPG, two assists) to hit both the 800-point and 250-goal marks in his NHL career. Held off the scoresheet, Washington superstar Alex Ovechkin will have to wait for another night to notch his 700th NHL goal; he is at 698.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel became the first Flyers rookie since Eric Lindros (March 25, 1993) to record a Gordie Howe Hat Trick.
In the first period, power play goals by Sean Couturier (14th) and TJ Oshie (20th) canceled each other out. Early in the second frame, three closely spaced goals by Michael Raffl (6th), Couturier (15th, 2nd of the game), and James van Riemsdyk (15th) opened up a three-goal lead for the Flyers. Aube-Kubel (3rd), Konecny (18th) and Giroux (power play, 14th) blew the game wide open in the third period. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored a fluky late goal (19th) for Washington off a mostly blocked shot.
Brian Elliott stepped up when he needed to, earning the win with 24 saves on 26 shots. Braden Holtby went two-plus periods, stopping just 18 of 25 shots in 47:22 of work. Ilya Samsonov mopped up, stopping the only shot he faced.
For an in-depth look at the game,
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The Flyers will have off-day on Sunday. On Monday, they will host the Florida Panthers at the Wells Fargo Center.
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Phantoms: Ustimenko Wins AHL Debut
Twenty-one-year-old goaltending prospect Kirill Ustimenko made 38 saves and fellow rookie Maksim Sushko netted even strength and shorthanded goals (8th and 9th) as the Lehigh Valley Phantoms earned a 5-3 road win over the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday night.
The Phantoms also got goals from Isaac Ratcliffe (4th), Kyle Criscuolo (8th) and Gerry Fitzgerald (6th). Lehigh Valley went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill to run their streak of successful kills to 22 in a row, dating back over the last eight games.
Lehigh Valley (21-22-5) play host to the Hershey Bears (30-15-5) at the PPL Center on Sunday as the Phantoms complete a 3-in-3 gauntlet.
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