Flyers show fight, but drop sixth straight in loss to Capitals

This one looked like it was going to get ugly in a hurry. It followed that trend for the first half of the game.

Down 4-0 in the second period and unable to make anything happen, the Flyers were well on their way to their sixth straight loss. Something clicked over the final 10 minutes of the second. It’s like every shot that wasn’t going in or any pressure that wasn’t happening before finally exploded.

After three shots in the opening frame, the Flyers came to life with 16 shots on Logan Thompson. Two of those shots went in to cut the deficit to two heading into the final frame. And to give Ivan Fedotov credit, he made a huge save on Pierre-Luc Dubois, leading to Owen Tippett scoring Philadelphia’s second goal.

His future as the backup goaltender is still uncertain, but that was a huge turning point in the game. He was up to the task again in the third period as Philadelphia continued to ramp up the pressure. They added another goal, this one by Matvei Michkov, to cut the deficit to just one goal.

But a rough line change with their net empty late in the third allowed the Capitals to ice the game. Alex Ovechkin added another empty netter as Washington handed the Flyers their sixth straight loss in a 6-3 victory.

Capitals score four answered goals

The Capitals had 15 shots during the first two periods. Four of those shots ended up in the back of the Flyers' net. It started with a tip-in from Taylor Raddysh less than five minutes into the game. There wasn't much Fedotov could do as it was a perfect deflection from the Capitals' forward.

That lead lasted the entire period as Philadelphia fired just three shots on Thompson. It's easy to keep the lead when you aren't facing any pressure from the other team. The Capitals opened it up with three goals in 4:27 to take a commanding 4-0 lead. Connor McMichael, who has been a solid top-six forward for Washington, had two of those goals. Nic Dowd scored the other.

McMichael's first goal came on a breakaway and while you'd like to see Fedotov make a save, he isn't to blame. His second was a redirection from the slot that went over the shoulder of the Flyers' goaltender. Again, not easy to stop a puck that changes direction at the last second.

Dowd's goal is absolutely one you want to see Fedotov stop as he was beaten clean. He didn't get the pad down in time as the puck slid under it. There's not really any traffic in front so Fedotov could see Dowd shooting the entire way.

Flyers answer back with three unanswered

Give the Flyers credit. They could've laid down and admitted defeat after going down 4-0. But they kept moving and fighting and found the energy they needed to get back into the game. It started on the power play as Pierre-Luc Dubois took a roughing penalty against Travis Konecny. And the latter made him pay for it.

With Michkov and Drysdale playing catch, the former spotted Konecny alone near the goal line. Konecny caught Thompson cheating a bit on the shot and saw the open space above his shoulder. He lifted it up and in to get the Flyers on the board. Once that first puck went in, Philadelphia knew they had a chance.

Owen Tippett needed a goal badly. He had hit numerous posts and missed several other great chances. It was beginning to feel like he wasn't ever going to score. Okay, that's a bit dramatic. But it just felt like he needed anything to go in to get him going. And he finally got his wish. It wasn't pretty and it didn't need to be. With Sean Couturier providing the screen in front, Tippett fired a quick shot on net that Thompson never saw.

Couturier didn't finish with a point in this one but he was an integral part of that goal and the one in the third period. It was his screen that allowed Michkov to score on the power play to make it a 4-3 game just over six and a half minutes into the final period.

It's another loss, but you have to like that the Flyers didn't back down and made a game out of something that looked like it was going to be anything but. Still, it's their sixth straight loss and they'll have to eat this one until they're back on home ice against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday.