Philadelphia Flyers Lose to Capitals in Carter Hart’s Return

The Philadelphia Flyers fell to the Capitals tonight by a score of 5-2 as their playoff hopes continue to diminish.

It was only one week and a day since the Philadelphia Flyers last played the defending Stanley Cup champion, Washington Capitals, where they fell 5-3. Though the last time these two teams met the Flyers didn’t have goalie Carter Hart. Hart returned to the Flyers tonight, since his last appearance on Feb. 21st, although the Flyers have held strong since his injury. The Flyers fell down 5-0, against the Capitals last week, eventually clawing back 3 straight goals to lose 5-3. Heading into tonight a key for the Flyers to win was to allow the Capitals to chase them, yet that wasn’t the case tonight.

1st Period

Hart had little time to get settled into the game as it only took 3 minutes for Brett Connolly of the Capitals to score and make it 1-0. Although Hart did make a good kick save only a minute before, the Flyers once again allowed for a better team the opportunity to strike. Then only 7 minutes later Lars Eller scored on a defensive breakdown by Travis Sanheim to make it 2-0 Capitals. Sanhiem’s failure to clear the puck past the blue line gave an elite team the opportunity to make a dangerous play. To add insult to injury, on the same play it was Sanhiem’s man (Lars Eller) who was able to get the rebound off Hart and put it home. Although the score told another story, the Flyers had decent chances to get some goals on Holtby. In the last minutes of the 1st period, the Flyers got a late power-play off a penalty that trailed into the second half.

2nd Period

It took only 1 minute for the Flyers to score as James van Riemsdyk (21st goal of the season) had a great wrist hand shot to beat Branden Holtby. Although it wouldn’t be a Flyers game if it was going to be that easy. With solid play from the Flyers to keep the game even, it took another Brett Connolly goal to break that, as he scored over the shoulder of Hart. The score was 3-1 for only a minute more as the Capitals were able to net another goal (wide-open) off an aggressive Carter Hart defensive move, to give Tom Wilson his 20th goal of the season. Again, the Flyers would have to claw back against one of the top NHL teams, but the Flyers did take a step in the right direction as Scott Laughton was able to finish a goal to make it 4-2. The Flyers were able to keep it level into the 3rd period where the tried to keep chipping back at the lead.

3rd Period

The 3rd period started with little action compared to the first two periods where 2 goals were scored in the first 3 mins of each period. The Flyers looked to get opportunities yet either late breakdowns or Holtby’s abilities were able to shut down the shots. The Flyers were able to get a power-play in the mid of the 3rd (10 mins in) period where they were unable to convert and help keep their playoff hopes alive. Yet, minutes after the end of their powerplay, an interference call gave the Flyers another opportunity to take down the champs. After another failed attempt to take advantage of the opportunity the Flyers were unable to create any real chances in the rest of the game. Alex Ovechkin scored an empty net goal to finish off the Flyers 5-2.

The Flyers are set to face the Maple Leafs tomorrow at 7 pm ET, which is a must-win game now more than ever.