Flyers hope to avenge overtime loss tonight vs Capitals

The Philadelphia Flyers are trying to shine down on the NHL since ending their long losing streak.

Since defeating the New York Islanders, a current wildcard team, the Flyers seem harder to play. They’re not getting pushed around. Hosting the New Jersey Devils, leading the NHL, Philadelphia coughed up the loss in a game they could’ve won. In response, they defeated the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Colorado Avalanche, at the Wells Fargo Center.

Tonight, the Washington Capitals come to Broad Street. Seven games ago, the Flyers visited the Capital One Center, losing in overtime. They played these Metropolitan Division rivals closely in the middle of a ten-game losing streak.

Philadelphia has much to prove, but they’re finding structure in their play. Can they shake off recent history and string together victory and their first over the Capitals?

Washington Capitals (11-12-4)

Victorious against the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2, Washington wraps up a six-game road trip tonight in the City of Brotherly Love.

Here’s the tentative lineup for the Capitals:

Ovechkin-Strome-Sheary
Milano-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Johansson-Eller-Mantha
Protas-Dowd-Hathaway

Gustafsson-Carlson
van Riemsdyk-Jensen
Alexeyev-Irwin

Lindgren
(Shepard)

John Carlson (-12, 50BLK, 17GV, 55.8%CF) was the best skater in the close victory against the Oilers. Defensively, he excels at clogging shooting lanes. Carlson is also active between the point and blueline, putting the puck on the net. Last time against the Flyers, Carlson had seven shots on goal but turned the puck over three times.

Dylan Strome (5G, 15A) notched a primary assist on the powerplay in Edmonton. His playmaking ability could turn Philadelphia’s penalty-kill unit into a liability. Strome leads Washington in powerplay assists.

Charlie Lindgren (3-3-2, 3.32GAA, 89.5%SV) will start for the Capitals. Lindgren is 0-0-1 in his career against the Flyers, dating back to his only start in February 2018 with the Montreal Canadiens.

Philadelphia Flyers (9-12-5)

Hoping to sustain confidence after a 5-3 victory over the Avalanche, Philadelphia could finish their homestand with back-to-back wins for the first time since November 8th versus the St. Louis Blues.

Here’s the tentative lineup for the Flyers:

Hayes-Cates, N-Konecny
Farabee-Frost-Tippett
van Riemsdyk-Laughton-MacEwen
Deslauriers-Sedlak-Brown

Provorov-Ristolainen
Sanheim-Braun
Seeler-DeAngelo

Hart
(Sandstrom)

Joel Farabee (5G, 10A) kept possessions alive versus Colorado. He creates rebound chances, deliberately placing low shots on goal to bounce off the goaltender’s pads. That sequence allowed Tanner Laczynski to crash a rebound chance for a critical score in the recent win for Philadelphia. He’ll remain on the youthful second line with Morgan Frost and Owen Tippett.

Anthony DeAngelo (-12, 37BLK, 19GV, 48.4%CF) jumped back into the powerplay. His puck movement helped the Flyers’ 30th-ranked powerplay pot two extra-man conversions in one game for the first time in 2022-2023. The test tonight rides on extending possessions on the powerplay via containment ahead of the blue line, forcing pressure on the opposing goaltender.

Carter Hart (8-7-4, 2.83GAA, 91.1%SV) will start. In his career, Hart is 3-4-1 versus Washington.