Flyers-Capitals, Game 42: Lines, Notes & How to Watch vs. Ovechkin

Fresh off a shutout victory, the Philadelphia Flyers (16-18-7) are back home Wednesday to take on the surging Washington Capitals (23-14-6).

The Capitals, who now have Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom back in the lineup, have won 13 of their last 17 games, while Philadelphia has won five of its last six.

Washington is coming off a shutout of its own as the suddenly red-hot Erik Gustafsson scored the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Columbus. Darcy Kuemper stopped all 38 shots he faced.

The Flyers recorded their first shutout of the season, thanks to Sam Ersson, in the 4-0 victory in Buffalo. The potent Sabres offense couldn’t get anything past Ersson. Travis Konecny had two assists to keep his point streak going as his six-game goal streak came to an end.

Carter Hart, coming off a shaky performance, will get the call Wednesday.

PHN: Flyers Notes: Sam Ersson Opens Eyes, Could Give Torts a Goalie Option

This is the third of four meetings between the Capitals and Flyers. They’ll play a home-and-home series to finish things up. Washington has won the last two matchups, the last a 4-1 victory. Alex Ovechkin scored twice, while Kevin Hayes had the Flyers’ only goal.

Both teams have players on hot streaks — Ovechkin and Konecny. They’ll be the two players to watch as they each has six goals in their last five games.

Flyers bets:

PA Online Sports Betting is sure to continue to grow and will have great bonuses to take advantage of during the season. The Flyers are +148 against the Capitals.

Expected Flyers lineup

van Riemsdyk – Frost – Tippett

Farabee – Cates – Konecny

Hayes – Laughton – Allison

Deslauriers – Brown – MacEwen

Defense

Provorov – York

Sanheim – DeAngelo

Seeler – Ristolainen

Goalie

Hart

Expected Capitals lineup

Ovechkin – Kuznetsov – Milano

Eller – Backstrom – Oshie

Sheary – Strome – Wilson

Johansson – Dowd – Hathaway

Defense

Gustafsson – van Riemsdyk

Orlov – Jensen

Alexeyev – Fehervary

Goalie

Kuemper

Flyers game notes

Gustafsson, a former Flyers defenseman, has had a highly successful season for the Caps, collecting seven goals, 25 points, and a plus-9 rating in 42 games. … Star defenseman John Carlson is sidelined for the Capitals. … Ovechkin has 46 goals and 77 points in 69 career games against Philadelphia. He leads the Capitals with 29 goals and 48 points. … Konecny is on a nine- game point streak, collecting 17 points during that span. … Kuemper (12-9-4), coming off the shutout, has a 2.45 GAA and a .920 save percentage. … Hart (11-12-6), who allowed six goals in his last start, has a 2.97 GAA and a .908 save percentage.

The Philadelphia Flyers are 5-1-0 in their last six games, outscoring opponents, 24-14.

Since Dec. 20, Philadelphia ranks third in the NHL in goals and is tied for third in wins.

The Flyers have scored three goals or more in five of their last six games. They have a 7-3-1 record when scoring three or more goals since Dec. 5.

How to watch

TV: 7 p.m. on NBCSP | Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

PHN: Carter Hart Remains No. 1 for Flyers