Flyers Rally to Beat Capitals in Shootout

It's no secret what has plagued the Flyers this season: the shootout. The Flyers had a 2-8 record in the shootout this season entering Wednesday night.

The Flyers used a complete effort to force overtime against the President's Trophy winners, the Washington Capitals, rallying for a goal late in the third.

But after an entertaining overtime, they solved the likely Vezina Trophy winner in Braden Holtby and claimed a 2-0 shootout victory for a 2-1 win over the Capitals on Wednesday night at Wells Fargo Center.

The first few moments of the game were slow with very little offensive zone time for either team. But things picked up drastically in the final 12 minutes of the period.

The Flyers had the only power play of the first, failing to convert, but taking three shots.

Both teams traded scoring chances, but the game remained scoreless through 20 minutes. The Flyers led in shots, 13-11, at the end of the first.

The intensity continued in the second period, as both teams took control at times. The Flyers dominated the first half of the second period, jumping out to an 8-1 shots advantage early, which included some grade-A scoring chances and stellar stops from Holtby.

But the Capitals responded, finishing the period with five of the next seven shots and drawing a penalty late in the period. On the delayed call, the Capitals held control for over a minute but never got a shot on goal.

The Flyers led in shots through two periods, 23-18.

The Capitals took that late power play from the second and converted early in the third. Alex Ovechkin, set up in his office in the left circle, fired a wrist shot short side on Steve Mason to give the Capitals the lead just 1:28 into the period. 

The Flyers finally got a chance for the equalizer and got it on a power play with 5:28 to play. On an extended shift for the first unit, Claude Giroux put a long-range shot on goal and it was deflected by Brayden Schenn in the slot past Holtby. It was Schenn's 25th of the season.

The physicality only picked up from there as the Flyers and Capitals remained tied through 60 minutes and went into overtime. 

An entertaining overtime featured three penalties, a gutsy penalty kill by the Flyers and a mammoth shift by the top line that nearly ended things still couldn't decide the game, so it was off the shootout again.

In the shootout, the Capitals elected to shoot first and went with shootout specialist T.J. Oshie. Mason was up to the task. Nick Cousins scored on his attempt to give the Flyers the lead. Mason robbed Evgeny Kuznetsov with the glove in the second round, giving Sam Gagner a chance to win it. Gagner made his way in slowly before firing off a shot that beat Holtby and gave the Flyers a 2-1 win.

Mason made 29 saves in the win and two more in the shootout for his second shootout win of the season. Holtby stopped 33 shots in the loss.

The Flyers gained a valuable two points, putting some distance on the Red Wings and moving ahead of the Boston Bruins, by points at least.

The Flyers return to the ice on Saturday afternoon when they host the Ottawa Senators. Game time is set for 1 p.m.

Scoring Summary

Penalty Summary

Game Statistics

Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.