Flyers-Capitals: Game 76 Preview

Flyers Leaders	GP	G	A	P	Capitals Leaders	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	72	22	42	64	Evgeny Kuznetsov	75	20	53	73
Brayden Schenn	73	24	29	53	Nicklas Backstrom	72	20	47	67
Wayne Simmonds	75	26	26	52	Alex Ovechkin	73	43	21	64
Jakub Voracek	66	10	40	50	Justin Williams	75	22	28	50
Shayne Gostisbehere	57	16	26	42	T.J. Oshie	73	24	22	46

 

Player to Watch
93 Jake Voracek	92 Evgeny Kuznetsov
Last 5 Games: 0 G, 2 A, 2 P, +1	Last 5 Games: 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, -5

 

Jake Voracek really struggled in Monday's overtime win over the Jets and has not looked like himself since returning six games ago. But much like Wayne Simmonds, who climbed out of a scoring rut against Winnipeg, Voracek will be looking to follow up a frustrating night with success.

 

There are so many players you could pick from the Washington lineup and the easy choice is Alex Ovechkin. But Evgeny Kuznetsov has really been the driving force behind the Capitals offense. Ovechkin may pile up the goals, but Kuznetsov isn't the point leader on the best team in the NHL for no reason and brings a plethora of dazzling moves to the ice. Interestingly enough, Kuznetsov is on a five-goal pointless streak, but had points in five straight games before that. He also has four points against the Flyers this season. 

 

Goalie Matchup
35 Steve Mason	70 Braden Holtby
20-17-9, 2.52 GAA, .918 SV%	46-9-4, 2.19 GAA, .923 SV%

Steve Mason has been the Flyers rock in net over the last six games and been brilliant in all of them. In the last six games, since Michal Neuvirth went down with injury, the Flyers netminder has a 3-2-1 record with a 1.97 GAA and .937 save percentage — 178 saves on 190 shots. 

Braden Holtby is likely going to win the Vezina Trophy and deservedly so. Forget the win-loss record here, as the Capitals have played well in front of him, but Holtby is certainly the reason the Capitals are where they are. Holtby allowed five goals against Pittsburgh on March 20, but otherwise has been brilliant, allowing two goals or less in five of his last six starts.

Flyers Projected Lineup

Scratches: Scott Laughton, Evgeny Medvedev, R.J. Umberger, Jordan Weal, Michael Del Zotto

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
10 Brayden Schenn	28 Claude Giroux	17 Wayne Simmonds
12 Michael Raffl	14 Sean Couturier	89 Sam Gagner
93 Jake Voracek	52 Nick Cousins	24 Matt Read
76 Chris VandeVelde	78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	25 Ryan White
Defense
47 Andrew MacDonald	53 Shayne Gostisbehere
55 Nick Schultz	32 Mark Streit
23 Brandon Manning	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
35 Steve Mason

The Flyers lineup will remain the same as in Monday night's win.

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (T-17th, 27th at home), Capitals (2nd, T-4th on road)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-19th, 21st at home), Capitals (4th, 6th on road) 
• Recent History vs. Capitals
  • Nov. 12, 2015 – The Flyers fell to the Capitals, 5-2, in Philadelphia. The Flyers took a 2-1 lead on goals by Scott Laughton and Claude Giroux. But Washington struck for three second-period goals, two from Jason Chimera and one from Justin Williams. T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom also scored for Washington. Braden Holtby made 18 saves in the win. Steve Mason made 27 saves in the loss.
  • Jan. 27, 2016 – The Flyers picked up a 4-3 win in overtime in Washington. Brayden Schenn and Ryan White scored in the first to open up a 2-0 Flyers lead, but Andre Burakovsky and Nicklas Backstrom scored 55 seconds apart to tie the game. A late goal in the second by Jake Voracek gave the Flyers the lead through two. Burakovsky scored early in the third to tie the game, but Voracek struck just 38 seconds into overtime to give the Flyers the win. Braden Holtby made 28 saves in the loss while Michal Neuvirth made 27 saves in the win.
  • Feb. 7, 2016 – The Flyers suffered a 3-2 loss to the Capitals in Washington. The Flyers took a late first-period lead on a goal by Michael Del Zotto. Washington tied the game with just over four minutes to play in the second on a goal by Alex Ovechkin and took the lead just 1:09 later on a goal by Dmitry Orlov. The Flyers tied the game just 51 seconds in the third on a goal by Nick Schultz, but Matt Niskanen's goal at 5:24 stood up as Braden Holtby made 33 saves to secure the win. Steve Mason made 27 saves in the loss.
• Flyers leaders vs. Capitals
• Claude Giroux – 28 games, 15 goals, 15 assists, 30 points
• Jake Voracek – 24 games, 11 goals, 7 assists, 18 points
• Shayne Gostisbehere – 2 games, 0 goals, 3 assists, 3 points
• Steve Mason – 15 games, 7-5-2, 2.85 GAA, .904 Sv%
• Milestone Watch
  • Sean Couturier needs 1 assist to reach 100 in his career.
  • Claude Giroux needs 1 points to pass Reggie Leach for 12th all-time in Flyers franchise history.
  • Steve Mason is playing in his 400th NHL game tonight. Wayne Simmonds is playing in his 600th NHL game tonight.

Where to Watch
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

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