It was a case of the third period blues that were able to lead the Washington Capitals to a 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in NHL action on Sunday.
For the Capitals, who played well the first two periods in the game, found their offense shut down by the Flyers defense and that was one of the many reasons for the losing result.
The top line for the Washington Capitals had a ton of momentum early, as the alignment of Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom were able to combine on a goal and or assist during the afternoon.
There were so many missed opportunities early in the game for the Capitals, that could have swung the momentum in their direction. The returning Lars Eller had himself some wonderful opportunities that had either just missed or went wide of the cage.
Eventually it was the Capitals getting on the board first, thanks to a goal by Ovechkin, who cashed on a power play opportunity, The Russian star now has his fourth goal of the season, and his 261 career power play goal. The Capitals captain is now four shy of Brett Hull (265) for the second most power play goals in NHL history.
Tom Wilson increased the lead for the Capitals later in the period, with his fifth goal of the season. Wilson now has 10 points, which ranks him second amongst the team’s forwards this season.
Philadelphia used some blue-collar hockey to grind out their first goal of the game, thanks to Scott Laughton. The Flyers were able to grind and keep a ton of pucks in front of the Washington cage, which eventually an open Laughton found a puck for the goal.
The Capitals were able to use their speed early on, which was able to put a ton of offensive pressure on the Flyers.
It was truly a fast-paced and exciting hockey game between these two teams, and this is only the first of eight meetings between these rivals.
Laughton tied things up again at the 2:29 mark of the second period, before being answered by Ovechkin, giving the Capitals a 3-2 lead. For the Capitals captain, he now has been able to have 146 multi-goal games in his career, while continuing to climb up in the rankings of the all-time greats when it comes time for scoring in the NHL.
Philadelphia responded with a goal by Robert Hagg at the 7:50 mark of the second and increased their lead when James van Riemsdyk connected on a top shelf goal later in the frame for the 4-3 lead. Van Riemsdyk, who also had an assist earlier in the game was able to extend his point streak to seven games, as he now ranks fourth in the NHL with 18 points. That goal was a milestone one for van Riemsdyk, which was his 100th regular season goal.
It was around this time that Capitals Head Coach Peter Laviolette made the call to his bench, replacing goalkeeper Vitek Vanecek with Craig Anderson.
Washington was able to tie the game up thanks to a goal by Nicklas Backstrom, who now leads the team with his 17 points thus far this season. Backstrom was able to score on a sweet, backhanded shot.
It was in the third period that the Capitals lost all their momentum and eventually the game. Philadelphia struck early on in that frame when Couturier gave his team the lead.
Shortly after that it was a tremendous effort by the Flyers defense that were just able to stay on whoever they were covering on the Washington offense, the Flyers were able to create turnovers that resulted in goals, that led to the victory.
Scoring the final two tallies for Philadelphia were Laughton and Couturier.
Now the Capitals who are in a bit of a slump will try to readjust their game plan and see if they can get back to their winning ways, as they will get to host the Flyers on Tuesday for a game that is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m.
For more information on the Washington Capitals fans are encouraged to click on the link seen here:
Official Washington Capitals Website | NHL.com