The Kids Are Alright: Wade Allison and Joel Farabee lead Flyers past Capitals in Cam York’s impressive debut

The Philadelphia Flyers went into Washington, D.C. and came away with a win thanks to their youth. Joel Farabee opened the scoring in the first period and Wade Allison scored twice in the second in the Flyers’ 4-2 win against the Capitals.

The Flyers also had another youngster making his NHL debut and Cam York didn’t disappoint. The defenseman looked right at home in his first NHL game.

Tyson Foerster and Cam York connect for a pair of goals in Phantoms win

Brian Elliott made 28 saves on 30 shots for the win in his 501st NHL game.

First period

The Flyers came out pretty strong against the Capitals in the early going. They got a few good shifts in and created some luck in front.

Kevin Hayes hit the crossbar with a shot, but Joel Farabee was in the crease to dig at it and eventually get a bounce to open the scoring.

It was Farabee’s 18th goal of the season to extend his team lead in goals.

There was some chaos in the crease at the other end of the ice a few minutes later. The puck crossed the goal line, but it was a clear kick by Daniel Sprong.

The Flyers continued playing well with the fourth line getting in on the forecheck and generating a point shot with traffic in front.

Cam York looked pretty good in his NHL debut. He was poised with the puck and displayed great vision, including this rush in the middle of the period.

York played solid defensively as well, but a pass got by him for a prime scoring chance for the Capitals with around five minutes left. Luckily, Brian Elliott had the answer.

However, the Capitals would score shortly thereafter. Nolan Patrick won a defensive-zone faceoff, but Ivan Provorov turned the puck over.

Anthony Mantha fed Daniel Sprong all alone in the slot to tie the game.

The Flyers and Capitals were tied at one after one period of play. Each team had eight shots on goal in the frame.

Second period

The second period was a bit back-and-forth between the two teams.

The Flyers got the first power play of the game as Ivan Provorov was tripped just 35 seconds into the game.

Cam York was given a chance on the Flyers’ top power-play unit and he continued his strong debut. He was able to enter the zone with speed and the Flyers got set up pretty quickly. They couldn’t beat Vanecek, though.

But Wade Allison could on his next shift.

Oskar Lindblom dumped the puck into the corner for a racing Allison. Allison rifled a shot past Vanecek for a 2-0 Flyers lead.

It was a nice dump-in by Lindblom and an even better shot by Allison.

After his power-play debut, York drew a penalty in the offensive zone after skating the puck into the corner.

Once again, however, the Flyers failed to score on the man advantage.

As the period neared the midway point, the Capitals put the pressure on. They controlled the puck at 5-on-5 and had a few good passing plays in the offensive zone.

Elliott had the answer on a Sprong one-timer after the Capital beat him in the first period.

The Capitals got their first power play of the game after Justin Braun was called for interference on Tom WIlson. However, without Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals weren’t able to score on this power play.

A few minutes after the Flyers killed off the penalty, Wade Allison struck again.

Scott Laughton cut into the zone and drew a penalty in front of the net. The Flyers kept possession of the puck and Philippe Myers tried a wraparound attempt. It didn’t go, but the puck bounced into the air where Allison batted it into the net.

It was Allison’s second goal of the game and his fourth of the season. The Flyers had their first two-goal lead of the game.

The Capitals nearly got the goal right back, but Elliott got just enough of a John Carlson shot and Travis Konecny cleared it from danger after the puck hit the post.

However, Washington kept up the pressure late in the period and finally got it back.

T.J. Oshie tipped home a Brenden Dillon point shot to make it a 3-2 game.

It was a goal that you could feel coming as the Capitals gained momentum throughout the period. The goal with 1:09 left in the period gave the Capitals some energy heading into the locker room.

The Flyers led 3-2 but trailed 20-19 in shots after two periods of play.

Third period

The third period had plenty of back-and-forth play in a fast frame. There was a whistle with 19:10 left and 17:14 left, but they then went more than eight minutes until the next whistle with 8:43 left.

There were a few good scoring chances during that time. For the Capitals, Dmitry Orlov hit the crossbar with a shot from the point.

Scott Laughton sped down the ice for a chance on a near breakaway, but was taken down without a call.

After the first TV timeout of the period, the play picked up. The Capitals created some chaos in front and nearly beat Elliott.

Then, a few minutes later, Farabee was inches away from scoring his second goal of the game.

At the other end, Nicklas Backstrom had a great opportunity in close in the final minutes, but Elliott stood tall to deny him.

The Capitals weren’t able to pull their goalie for the extra attacker until there were around 90 seconds left in the game.

Sean Couturier hit the empty net with 30 seconds left to put the game away. The Flyers beat the Capitals 4-2 in Washington.

Cam York looked incredibly comfortable in his NHL debut, Wade Allison had a great game with two goals, and Joel Farabee extended his team lead in goals with his 18th of the season.

A good win for the Flyers in Washington.

— Ryan Gilbert (@RGilbertSOP) May 8, 2021

The Flyers and Capitals will go right back at it on Saturday night at 7 p.m. ET in Washington, D.C.