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 And the Philadelphia Flyers, who were dealing with their own issues,
were only happy to take advantage.
The Flyers jumped out to an early lead, withstood a rejuvenated
Capitals' rally and held on for a 4-3 overtime triumph Wednesday
that put an end to their own three-game losing skid and halted
Washington's home winning streak at 12 games.
Right winger Jakub Voracek scored twice for the Flyers, including
the game-winner in overtime when he spun around the back of the net
and fired over the shoulder of Capitals' goalie Braden Holtby, who
didn't have control of his stick on the shot after having it jostled
by teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov.
"The play that he made on the game-winning goal is a big-time play,"
Philadelphia coach Dave Hakstol said of Voracek.
Philadelphia came into the third period with a 3-2 advantage thanks
to a laser from Voracek off an offensive-zone draw at the 2:21 mark
of the second period. But Washington drew even when left winger
Andre Burakovsky scored his second goal of the game off a nifty feed
from Kuznetsov early in the third.
The Flyers, who had lost two of the games during their three-game
slide in the final two minutes of regulation, dodged another bullet,
killing off a penalty over the game's final 2:02.
"I'm glad we closed it out today," Voracek said. "It was a huge,
huge game by our penalty kill, especially in the last two minutes of
the third. We played good hockey today."
Thanks to a snowstorm that deposited nearly two feet of snow around
the D.C. area, the Capitals had not played since Jan. 19, with two
home games cancelled because of the inclement weather. Washington
coach Barry Trotz worried that his squad may get off to a slow start
after the eight-day layoff, which proved to be true.
"It's like coming back from vacation, that first day of work, you're
not that productive," Trotz said. "That first period, we weren't
that productive. You've got to shake that rust."
The Flyers took advantage in the first period, looking like the
sharper and faster team. After Washington right winger Tom Wilson
was sent to the penalty box for interference, center Brayden Schenn
needed just six seconds of the power play to put Philadelphia on the
board, taking a feed from right winger Wayne Simmonds and beating
Holtby top shelf for the game's first goal.
Later in the period, Kuznetsov made a terrible clearing pass deep in
his own zone, with the only player around being Flyers center Ryan
White, who deposited the errant feed past Holtby for his fifth goal
of the season.
"That's our job, to get out there and pound pucks and make guys make
mistakes," White said.
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Washington woke up in the second period and controlled much of the
action, scoring twice in 55 seconds to tie the game.
Defenseman Nate Schmidt intercepted a clearing pass and found
Burakovsky open in the slot, where he blasted a shot by Flyers
goalie Michal Neuvirth to make it 2-1. Less than a minute later,
right winger T.J. Oshie fed a pass through traffic right on the
stick of center Nicklas Backstrom, who beat Neuvirth glove side to
tie things at 2-2.
"I think we came out pretty slow, we couldn't really get anything
going, but we were just sticking to the game and as the game went
on, we actually got a lot better," Burakovsky said. "Our goal in the
second period was to win that period and we did."
Neuvirth, who was facing his former team for the first time, made 27
saves. Holtby finished with 28 saves for Washington.
The loss was the Capitals' first at home since Nov. 19 against
Dallas.
NOTES: Washington RW Alex Ovechkin will miss the 2016 NHL All-Star
Game on Sunday in Nashville due to a lower-body injury, the team
announced after the game. ... Capitals C Marcus Johansson left the
game during the first period and did not return with what the team
announced as an upper-body injury. ... Flyers G Steve Mason was
scratched from the lineup Wednesday with a lower-body injury,
despite going through the team's morning skate. Philadelphia
recalled G Jason LaBarbera from AHL Lehigh Valley. D Evgeny Medvedev
and C Jordan Weal were also scratched. ... Capitals D Karl Alzner
played in his 423rd consecutive game, breaking the franchise record
previously held by Bob Carpenter. Alzner has the fifth-longest
active consecutive games streak in the NHL. ... Capitals C Mike
Richards' hearing on controlled substance charges, scheduled for
Thursday in Manitoba, was adjourned until Feb. 25. ... D Ryan
Stanton and RW Stanislav Galiev were scratches for Washington.
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