Wayne Simmonds and Alex Ovechkin both register goals in wins on Saturday afternoon. The Flyers and Capitals face off on Sunday afternoon. (Photo by Amy Irvin/Flyerdelphia)
Both the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals spent Saturday afternoon playing teams in the playoff race in the Eastern Conference. Both came away with 4-2 wins.
The Flyers win over the Rangers and the Capitals win over the Bruins were both important ways to get back to winning in the thick of a playoff race.
This two teams are as evenly matched as they come. The Flyers lead the Capitals by one point in the standings. So obviously, there is a huge two points on the line on Sunday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. from Verizon Center.
The Capitals dynamic duo of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom lead the way. Ovechkin has 43 goals to lead all NHL players. Backstrom is second on the Capitals with 60 points, trailing Ovechkin by just five points.
Marcus Johansson, Joel Ward, Mikhail Grabovski and Jason Chimera serve as other serviceable forwards to the Capitals. Each has at least 30 points on the season. Mike Green leads all Capitals defensemen with 30 points.
In goal, MIchal Neuvirth will start for Washington. Neuvirth is 4-6-2 with a 2.82 GAA and .914 save percentage.
The Flyers, coming off a 4-2 win themselves, will counter with the traditional group. Wayne Simmonds, Vincent Lecavalier and Sean Couturier scored in the win.
Additionally, the Flyers defeated the Captials, 5-2, in the last meeting between the two teams on Dec. 17. Jake Voracek scored twice while Mark Streit, Matt Read and Simmonds added goals.
After making 33 saves on Saturday, Steve Mason will be back in goal while Ray Emery recovers from a minor injury. Mason is 24-15-5 with a 2.54 GAA and .917 save percentage.
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (14th, 4th on road), Capitals (2nd, 5th at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (T-7th, T-5th on road), Capitals (T-18th, 24th at home)
- The Flyers are 1-1-1 against the Capitals this season. The Capitals defeated the Flyers, 7-0, on Nov. 1. They lost to the Captials on the road, 5-4, in a shootout on Dec. 15. The Flyers rebounded with a 5-2 win on Dec. 17.
- Milestone Watch: Vincent Lecavalier needs one point for 900 in his career and three goals for 400 in his career. Jake Voracek needs six goals to reach 100 in his career.
Flyers scratches: Erik Gustafsson, Hal Gill, Jay Rosehill
Flyers Projected Lineup
Line 1: Scott Hartnell-Claude Giroux-Jake Voracek
Line 2: Vincent Lecavalier-Brayden Schenn-Wayne Simmonds
Line 3: Matt Read-Sean Couturier-Steve Downie
Line 4: Michael Raffl-Adam Hall-Zac Rinaldo
D-Pair 1: Kimmo Timonen-Braydon Coburn
D-Pair 2: Nick Grossmann-Mark Streit
D-Pair 3: Andrej Meszaros-Luke Schenn
Goalie: Steve Mason
Where to Watch
TV: NBC
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
Kevin Durso is the lead beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
