Game 51 Preview: Flyers visit NHL-leading Washington Capitals

Flyers Leaders	GP	G	A	P	Capitals Leaders	GP	G	A	P
Claude Giroux	50	16	28	43	Evgeny Kuznetsov	50	15	37	52
Jake Voracek	50	8	34	42	Nicklas Backstrom	47	17	31	48
Wayne Simmonds	50	18	16	34	Alex Ovechkin	48	29	14	43
Brayden Schenn	48	14	15	29	Justin Williams	50	16	19	35
Shayne Gostisbehere	32	9	17	24	T.J. Oshie	50	16	16	32

 

Player to Watch
53 Shayne Gostisbehere	92 Evgeny Kuznetsov
Last 5 Games: 1 G, 6 A, 7 P, -1	Last 5 Games: 0 G, 8 A, 8 P, +2

 

With two points in Saturday's shootout loss to the New York Rangers, Shayne Gostisbehere extended his points streak to seven games — a feat quite rare for rookie defensemen. That set a new franchise record for point streaks by rookie defensemen, topping the mark that Dick Cherry (yes, Don's brother) set back in 1968-69. 'Ghost' is three games now from tying the Flyers' record for longest points streak by a rookie, set by Mikael Renberg in 1993-94.

 

When you think of Russian players that lead the Capitals in points, Alex Ovechkin is usually the first name that comes to mind. That's not the case this year, however, as third-year pivot Evgeny Kuznetsov is enjoying a breakout season. He's already shattered career-highs for goals and points, and is one of the biggest reason why the Capitals are one of this season's biggest success stories. Evidently, all that "hockey school" and "checking school" after practices has worked out.

 

Goalie Matchup
35 Steve Mason	30 Henrik Lundqvist
12-12-7, 2.68 GAA, .916 SV%	32-5-3, 2.06 GAA, .928 SV%

As Michal Neuvirth continues to recover from a lower-body injury, expect Steve Mason to get the nod in goal yet again. Mason had turned away 26 of 28 shots faced in Saturday's loss.

Braden Holtby, who has carried much of the weight in goal for the Capitals this season, is expected to make his second start of the weekend as well. He previously saved 22 of 24 pucks in the Caps' 3-2 shootout win over New Jersey on Saturday.

Flyers Projected Lineup:

Scratches: Jordan Weal, R.J. Umberger, Brandon Manning, Michal Neuvirth, Sean Couturier

Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
93 Jake Voracek	28 Claude Giroux	17 Wayne Simmonds
89 Sam Gagner	52 Nick Cousins	10 Brayden Schenn
76 Chris VandeVelde	78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare	25 Ryan White
12 Michael Raffl	21 Scott Laughton	24 Matt Read
Defense
15 Michael Del Zotto	53 Shayne Gostisbehere
55 Nick Schultz	32 Mark Streit
82 Evgeny Medvedev	3 Radko Gudas
Goalie
35 Steve Mason

Expect the Flyers to roll the same lineup that they did on Saturday. Wayne Simmonds will definitely be in the lineup after avoiding suspension for his jab to Ryan McDonagh from the first period of Saturday's loss to the New York Rangers.

Game Notes

• Power Play: Flyers (15th, 12th on road), Capitals (1st, 1st at home)
• Penalty Kill: Flyers (24th, 24th on road), Capitals (5th, 11th at home) 
• Recent History vs. Capitals:
  • Jan. 27, 2016 – A two-goal performance from Jakub Voracek — including one of the niftier overtime goals of the Flyers' season — lifted the Flyers to a 4-3 win and snapped a three-game losing streak. Brayden Schenn and Ryan White each scored as well, while Michal Neuvirth made 27 saves on 30 shots in his first-career start against his former team. Andre Burakovsky (two goals) and Nicklas Backstrom each scored, while Holtby saved 28 of 32 shots.
  • Feb. 22, 2015 — The Flyers managed to blow a 2-0 lead in the second period, but Michael Del Zotto put them ahead 3-2 in the third period to give them their third win of the season against the Capitals. Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds scored for the Orange and Black, while Tom Wilson and Joel Ward scored for the Capitals. Holtby made 25 saves on 28 shots, while Rob Zepp saved 21 of 23 shots.
  • Feb. 8, 2015 — Mark Streit, Simmonds and Voracek each contributed to a 3-1 win against the Capitals, while Alex Ovechkin scored the Caps' lone goal. Holtby saved 22 of 24 shots. Mason had stopped all eight shots he faced before leaving the game in the second period with a lower-body injury, and Ray Emery saved five of six shots in relief.
• Flyers leaders vs. Rangers:
• Claude Giroux - 27 games, 15 goals, 15 assists, 30 points.
• Mark Streit – 36 games, 8 goals, 18 assists, 26 points. 
• Jakub Voracek – 23 games, 11 goals, 7 assists, 18 points. 
• Steve Mason - 13 games, 7-3-2, 2.83 GAA, .904 SP.
• Milestone Watch:
  • Mark Streit: 5 points to reach 400 for career
  • Jake Voracek: 7 goals to reach 100 as a Flyer

Where to Watch
TV: NBC
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

Rob Riches is a contributor to Flyerdelphia and Sports Talk Philly. Follow him on Twitter @Riches61.