Jones Makes 31 Saves, Flyers Down Capitals

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

In his first two starts, Martin Jones delivered a solid performance. He kept that string going for a third straight game, as the Flyers got the desired result against a divisional opponent.  

A pair of second-period goals and 31 saves from Jones were the difference, as the Flyers completed a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.

The first period featured no scoring, but both teams did have power-play chances. It was a tight-checking period with limited space for both teams to generate quality chances. 

Through 20 minutes, the Flyers had a 12-6 lead in shots. 

The second period followed a similar path as things started to open up. The Capitals got another power play that the Flyers killed off. 

Finally, at 11:18, the Flyers finally broke through. Derick Brassard fired a shot high to the glove side of Vitek Vanecek, giving the Flyers the lead. 

Less than five minutes later, the Flyers padded the lead. A shot by Rasmus Ristolainen was stopped, but Sean Couturier was able to knock home the rebound to make it 2-0 with 4:16 remaining in the period. 

The Flyers padded their shot lead in the second period too, opening up a 26-17 margin. 

In the third, the Capitals started to make their push, and did finally break through for a goal at 6:02. Brett Leason was able to get a shot past Jones on a rebound, making it a 2-1 game. 

With 6:20 to play, the Flyers faced another late test with a penalty kill. They managed to kill it off, getting several shots on the man-advantage. 

The Flyers held off the late push, finishing off the 2-1 win. 

In the defeat, Vanecek made 30 saves. 

The Flyers get back on the ice on Wednesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:30 p.m.

Box Score

Scoring Summary

1st Period

• No Scoring

2nd Period

• PHI Derick Brassard (2) (Cam Atkinson, Justin Braun) 11:18
• PHI Sean Couturier (5) (Rasmus Ristolainen, Claude Giroux) 15:44

3rd Period

• WSH Brett Leason (2) (Connor McMichael, John Carlson) 6:02

Game Statistics