Flyers at Capitals, Game 61: Notes, Lineups, and How to Watch
Two important points are on the line as the Philadelphia Flyers head to face the Washington Capitals in a Metro battle.
This is the second of three meetings between the two teams. A shootout was needed to determine the winner of Dec. 14. It was a back-and-forth game, with the Capitals leading late. Owen Tippett tied the game with just over three minutes remaining. Sean Couturier and Bobby Brink scored in the ensuing shootout to give the Flyers the 4-3 victory.
Philadelphia Flyers
This is the type of game where people say that it is a four-point swing. Earn the two points and bury your opposition by two more points. For the Flyers, they will be looking to do exactly that. Washington is creeping up behind them in the standings, though their recent loss and Philadelphia win knocked the deficit back to six points. The Devils and Islanders are only five points back, though. Things are getting tight in the division again and points are important no matter what.
Due to a few injuries and subpar play, the Flyers had to change their lineup. With Jamie Drysdale week-to-week and Rasmus Ristolainen remaining out, Ronnie Attard had his number called. It's his first stint with the Flyers this season and comes at a time in which he was playing well with the Phantoms. If he plays, Philadelphia would likely be back to an 11/7 lineup. Felix Sandstrom has also returned to Philadelphia since the beginning of the season. He is expected to play against the Senators on Saturday.
In terms of the current lineup, Sean Couturier has recently been demoted to the fourth line. There is no known injury and it isn't to watch his minutes either. Other players have been playing better, taking those minutes from Couturier. It's not a foreign concept from Tortorella. It happened last season with Kevin Hayes and Scott Laughton. Couturier could be hitting a wall from not having played the previous two seasons. He has averaged well under 20 minutes in the last 12 games after playing above that mark the entire season.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Joel Farabee - Scott Laughton - Tyson Foerster
Owen Tippett - Morgan Frost - Bobby Brink
Noah Cates - Ryan Poehling - Garnet Hathaway
Nic Deslauriers - Sean Couturier - Olle Lycksell
Cam York - Travis Sanheim
Nick Seeler - Sean Walker
Egor Zamula - Marc Staal
Sam Ersson
Washington Capitals
The Capitals are hanging around the playoff picture despite a less-than-stellar season. This is an even more important game for them. Win and you have a chance. Lose and you're now eight points out in the division and even further back of the wild card. That could make or break what the Capitals do as the trade deadline looms.
The Flyers are catching Alex Ovechkin at the worst time. While he was deep in a scoring slump when they saw him in December, it has been the opposite lately. He has 11 goals and 27 points in his last 29 games. He is now tied for the team lead in points (43) with Dylan Strome. Strome leads the team with 21 goals. The Capitals lack a true superstar, aside from Ovechkin, but they have a few players to keep an eye on. However, they are down Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and T.J. Oshie. Backstrom has missed most of the season due to a chronic hip issue. Oshie remains out with an undisclosed injury, while Kuznetsov has been in the NHL's Player Assistance program for the last few weeks.
Charlie Lindgren will get the start in net as the Capitals have split their goaltending rotation almost evenly this season. This will be Lindgren's 29th game of the season, while Darcy Kuemper is at that mark now. For Lindgren, he has posted a 2.85 GAA and a .908 SV%. He gave up eight goals in his last start against the Red Wings.
Capitals Projected Lineup
Alex Ovechkin - Hendrix Lapierre - Tom Wilson
Max Pacioretty - Dylan Strome - Sonny Milano
Aliaksei Protas - Connor McMichael - Anthony Mantha
Beck Malenstyn - Mike Sgarbossa - Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Rasmus Sandin - John Carlson
Joel Edmundson - Nick Jensen
Alex Alexeyev - Trevor van Riemsdyk
Charlie Lindgren
When, Where, and How to Watch/Listen
Time: 7:00 PM
Where: Capital One Arena
Watch: NBCSP, NHLN
Radio: 93.3 WMMR
Live Stream: FuboTV
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