Flyers vs. Capitals, Game 43: Lines, Notes & How to Watch

It’s Round 2 between the Philadelphia Flyers (17-18-7) and the Washington Capitals (23-15-6). This time, they will meet Saturday night at Capital One Arena in Washington.

The Flyers will be looking for a home-and-home sweep, something that won’t be easy against the Capitals. They have not lost two in a row in regulation since Nov. 13-15.

The last game for these two was against each other as Travis Konecny’s sizzling season continued. His second career hat trick led Philadelphia to a 5-3 victory.

Scott Laughton had a goal and two assists, while Owen Tippett chipped in with a goal and one assist. Tippett has been playing well lately, and he is making the Claude Giroux trade look like a strong one.

“I think it’s just using my size all over the ice, whether I have the puck or not, using my feet, taking pucks, and being strong on pucks all over the ice.” Tippett said.

PHN: John Tortorella Takes Away iPads from the Flyers’ Bench

After Wednesday’s game, Tortorella spoke about his decision to take away iPads from the Philadelphia Flyers’ bench. He wanted player to focus more on their shifts instead of looking at the past.

He elaborated more on his decision during the team’s practice Friday morning. Besides distracting the players, Tortorella mentioned how he and his assistants can overcoach by constantly looking at past moments and shifts.

Whatever the reasoning was for the decision, something is working for the Flyers right now. They’ve won six of their last seven games, scoring four goals or more in each victory.

In order to keep things moving in the right direction, Philadelphia will need to find a way to shut down Alex Ovechkin again. He had six shots, no points, and was a minus-2 Wednesday.

Ovechkin has four points in the two other games against Philadelphia this season. The last time he went pointless in more than one game against the Flyers was a stretch of three consecutive contests last season.

Flyers’ expected lines

van Riemsdyk – Frost – Tippett

Farabee – Cates – Konecny

Hayes – Laughton – Allison

Deslauriers – Brown – MacEwen

Defense

Provorov – York

Sanheim – DeAngelo

Seeler – Ristolainen

Goalie

Ersson

Capitals’ expected lines

Ovechkin – Kuznetsov – Milano

Eller – Backstrom – Oshie

Sheary – Strome – Wilson

Johansson – Dowd – Hathaway

Defense

Gustafsson – van Riemsdyk

Orlov – Jensen

Alexeyev – Fehervary

Goalie

Lindgren

Breakaways

Konecny is on a scorching 10-game point streak. He has 12 goals and eight assists during that span. … Tippett quietly has seven points in his last seven games. … Nicklas Backstrom recorded his first point of the season against the Flyers. He’s played in just two games after off-season hip surgery. … Lindgren (11-5-2) has been good in his first season in Washington, posting a 2.60 GAA and a .912 save percentage. Ersson (4-0), coming off his first career shutout, has recorded a 2.30 GAA and a .924 save percentage.

Philadelphia is 6-1 in its last seven games, outscoring opponents, 29-17.

The Flyers are on a season-high four-game win streak on the road, their best since winning five-straight road games in 2019.

The Philadelphia Flyers lead the league with eight shorthanded goals, tying their season high from the 2019-20 season.

How to watch and listen

TV: 7 p.m. on NBCSP | Radio: 93.3 WMMR

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