Game 63 Preview: Washington Capitals @ Philadelphia Flyers

Image courtesy of NewsTimes.com

Washington Capitals (29-23-10) @ Philadelphia Flyers (32-24-6), 8:00pm, NBCSN/TSN2

If the frantic finish in Sunday’s opening to this home-and-home wasn’t enough excitement, the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals will meet at the Wells Fargo Center tonight with new players for each side. Add that with the fact the teams are separated by just two points in the standings and that a dirty incident took place on the ice at the Verizon Center on Sunday, and tonight’s game should be nothing short of amazing.

It looked as though the Flyers were going to skate to a 4-2 loss in Washington on Sunday until Dmitry Orlov, who had recorded two goals earlier in the day, boarded Brayden Schenn with a vicious flying hit from behind just 9:33 into the third period. From there, Jakub Voracek scored on the five-minute power play for the Flyers to make it a one-goal game before Claude Giroux ultimately tied it with just 65 seconds left in regulation. Vincent Lecavalier potted the game-winner just over the halfway point of overtime to increase Philly’s lead in the standings to two points.

Tonight, several new faces will be introduced into the rivalry of these Metropolitan Division squads. The one name that will intrigue Flyers’ fans the most is Andrew MacDonald, a defenseman the Orange and Black acquired yesterday from the New York Islanders. MacDonald will most likely set his career high in points this season, as he has four goals and 20 assists in 63 contests in his final year of a contract where his cap hit is $550,000. The 6’1” 190-pound 27-year-old will be one of the more mobile defenseman on the Flyers’ blue line, which is indeed the team’s greatest need this season. In exchange for MacDonald, Philly gave New York a third-round pick in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, a second-round pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, and prospect Matt Mangene.

As for the Capitals, they acquired Dustin Penner, Rostislav Klesla, and prospect Chris Brown while only losing Martin Erat and John Mitchell in the process. Washington did also give their fourth-round pick in this year’s draft and added an additional fourth-round pick in next year’s draft in their deal with the Phoenix Coyotes. While Penner is almost certainly going to be on the first line with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin, it is unsure whether or not Klesla will play for the Caps tonight.

On the ice, the Orange and Black will need to keep up their excellent work on special teams while improving their even strength performance. Philly was 2-for-4 on the power play Sunday and killed off all six of the Caps’ chances with the extra man, but the Flyers were still down by two goals to start the third period and needed a last-minute goal to grab two points. When you factor in that Adam Hall’s goal came shorthanded, Philly’s only goal at even strength in regulation on Sunday came from Giroux near the end of regulation. To make sure they leave tonight’s game with a pair of points, the team needs to play better outside of the power play and penalty kill.

Although they were 6-for-6 in killing penalties on Sunday, the Flyers can’t keep sending players to the box and allowing Ovechkin and the Caps’ power-play unit to take the ice multiple times. A player that will need to limit his time in the box tonight is Steve Downie, who had eight PIMs in the win while sending Washington to the power play multiple times. Playing a team that has the second-highest power-play percentage, the league leader in power-play points in Backstrom, and the league leader in power-play goals with Ovechkin, now might be a good time for Craig Berube’s team to finally apply that discipline they have been talking about all season.

Another thing the Flyers will also need tonight is a strong performance from Steve Mason. After an impressive performance on Saturday, Mason gave up four goals on 29 shots on Sunday. Although it may have not been entirely his fault, the team will need to prevent the Caps from scoring four goals if they want any shot of winning again.

Since the New York Rangers are also in action tonight, the Flyers could enjoy a three-point advantage for the second spot in the division by the night’s end or they could drop to third in the division. With a win tonight and a Rangers’ loss in regulation, the Orange and Black could sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 72 points to the 69 points of the Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets, as well as possibly the Caps. If the Flyers’ lose in any manner and the Rangers’ win in any manner, the Flyers will drop to third in the division.

RECORDS
Washington Capitals
Overall: 29-23-10
Away: 12-13-5
Against the Eastern Conference: 21-15-8
Against the Metropolitan Division: 10-11-3

Philadelphia Flyers
Overall: 32-24-6
Home:  17-11-1
Against the Eastern Conference: 20-15-4
Against the Metropolitan Division: 11-8-3

PROJECTED LINEUPS
Washington Capitals
Dustin Penner – Nicklas Backstrom – Alex Ovechkin
Brooks Laich – Marcus Johansson – Troy Brouwer
Jason Chimera – Eric Fehr – Joel Ward
Nicolas Deschamps – Jay Beagle – Tom Wilson

Karl Alzner – John Carlson
Jack Hillen – Mike Green
John Erskine – Connor Carrick

Braden Holtby
Michal Neuvirth

Philadelphia Flyers
Scott Hartnell – Claude Giroux – Jakub Voracek
Vincent Lecavalier – Brayden Schenn – Wayne Simmonds
Steve Downie – Sean Couturier – Matt Read
Zac Rinaldo – Adam Hall – Jay Rosehill

Braydon Coburn – Kimmo Timonen
Mark Streit – Nicklas Grossmann
Andrew MacDonald – Luke Schenn

Steve Mason
Cal Heeter

TEAM LEADERS
Washington Capitals
Goals: Alex Ovechkin, 43
Assists: Nicklas Backstrom, 48
Points: Alex Ovechkin, 65
Power-Play Points: Nicklas Backstrom, 33
Plus/Minus: Steve Oleksy, plus-7
PIMs: Tom Wilson, 116
Average TOI: John Carlson, 24:50
GAA: Philipp Grubauer, 2.38
Save Percentage: Philipp Grubauer, .926

Philadelphia Flyers
Goals: Claude Giroux, 21
Assists: Claude Giroux, 40
Points: Claude Giroux, 61
Power-Play Points: Claude Giroux, 26
Plus/Minus: Erik Gustafsson, plus-9
PIMs: Zac Rinaldo, 115
Average TOI: Braydon Coburn, 22:30
GAA: Steve Mason, 2.57
Save Percentage: Steve Mason, .915

INJURIES
Washington Capitals
Aaron Volpatti – Upper-body injury (out)
Mikhail Grabovski – Sprained left ankle (day-to-day)
Jack Hillen – Knee (questionable)
Dmitry Orlov – Suspended

Philadelphia Flyers
Ray Emery – Lower-body injury (day-to-day)

FORMER PLAYERS
Former Capitals in Philadelphia’s organization
With Philadelphia: Craig Berube (head coach), John Paddock (assistant coach), Ross Fitzpatrick (amateur scout, Hershey Bears), Al Hill (pro scout, Hershey Bears), Neil Little (amateur scout, Hershey Bears)
With the Adirondack Phantoms (AHL): Terry Murray (head coach, Washington Capitals)
With the Greenville Road Warriors (ECHL): Dwayne Zinger (assistant coach, Washington Capitals)

Former Flyers in Washington’s organization
With Washington: Adam Oates (head coach)
With the Hershey Bears (AHL): Ryan Potulny, Julien Brouillette (Greenville Road Warriors), Dustin Gazley (Greenville Road Warriors)
With the Reading Royals (ECHL): Mike Banwell (Trenton Titans), Marvin Degon (Trenton Titans), Jesse Todd (Trenton Titans)