Flyers-Capitals: Game 35 Preview

Flyers Leaders	GP	G	A	P	Capitals Leaders	GP	G	A	P
Jake Voracek	34	11	23	34	Nicklas Backstrom	30	9	18	27
Claude Giroux	34	9	21	30	Alex Ovechkin	30	14	9	23
Wayne Simmonds	34	16	13	29	Marcus Johansson	30	12	10	22
Brayden Schenn	31	9	12	21	Evgeny Kuznetsov	30	3	14	17
Travis Konecny	34	4	12	16	T.J. Oshie	23	10	5	15

 

Player to Watch
11 Travis Konecny	8 Alex Ovechkin
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 1 A, 1 P, +2	Last 5 Games: 2 G, 2 A, 4 P, E

 

He hasn't scored in 19 games, but Travis Konecny has been all around the net and nearly snapped his scoring drought on Monday. Given his recent performances, buzzing around the net, this could be Konecny's night to get back on the score sheet.

 

It's been a bit of a quiet season for Alex Ovechkin. While he has 14 goals this season, the halfway point of the season is nearing and Ovechkin is only on pace for 35 goals this season, far from the 50-goal production he has had in each of the last three seasons. But that can all change quickly, especially if Washington's power play gets into a rhythm.

 

Goalie Matchup
35 Steve Mason	70 Braden Holtby
13-9-3, 2.68 GAA, .908 SV%	14-7-2, 2.08 GAA, .925 SV%

Steve Mason played well on Monday, making 30 saves and stopping one more chance in the shootout. Mason should be in goal for the Flyers again for what will be his 17th start in 19 games.

Braden Holtby is not having the outrageous success he had a season ago in terms of wins, but he is still working on an excellent season with numbers even better than last season. His goals against average is 2.08, 12 points lower than a season ago, and his save percentage is .925, three points higher than a season ago. Holtby last started for the Capitals on Saturday in a 2-1 loss to Montreal, making 23 saves on 25 shots.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Boyd Gordon, Nick Schultz, Sean Couturier, Michal Neuvirth, Matt Read, Mark Streit

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
12 Michael Raffl	28 Claude Giroux	93 Jake Voracek
11 Travis Konecny	10 Brayden Schenn	17 Wayne Simmonds
76 Chris VandeVelde	78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	13 Roman Lyubimov
58 Taylor Leier	25 Nick Cousins	22 Dale Weise
Defense
3 Radko Gudas	15 Michael Del Zotto
47 Andrew MacDonald	9 Ivan Provorov
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	23 Brandon Manning
Goalie
35 Steve Mason

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (T-4th, 7th at home), Capitals (11th, 11th on road)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-11th, 14th at home), Capitals (7th, 15th on road) 
• Recent History vs. Capitals
  • 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs - The two teams met in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Washington rolled to a 3-0 series lead behind a 2-0 win in Game 1, a 4-1 win in Game 2 and a 6-1 win in Game 3. The Flyers rallied for wins in Game 4, 2-1, and Game 5, 2-0, before falling in Game 6, 1-0, to lose the series four games to two.
  • March 30, 3016 – In their final regular-season meeting of 2016, the Flyers came away with a 2-1 win in a shootout. A power-play goal by Alex Ovechkin at 1:28 of the third period broke a scoreless tie. Brayden Schenn knotted the game at one with a power-play goal with 5:28 remaining in regulation. Nick Cousins and Sam Gagner scored in the shootout while Steve Mason made saves on both shootout attempts he faced to give the Flyers a crucial victory.
• Flyers leaders vs. Capitals
• Claude Giroux – 29 games, 15 goals, 16 assists, 31 points
• Jake Voracek - 25 games, 11 goals, 7 assists, 18 points
• Shayne Gostisbehere - 3 games, 0 goals, 3 assists, 3 points
• Steve Mason - 16 games, 8-5-2, 2.71 GAA, .908 Sv%
• Milestone Watch
  • Wayne Simmonds will play in his 400th game as a Flyer on Wednesday night.

Where to Watch
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic