Flyers Game 70, The Gr8 Chase; Lines, Notes, & How to Watch vs. Capitals

The Philadelphia Flyers (28-33-8) will face the Eastern Conference’s best team, the Washington Capitals (45-15-8) one last time this season.

After two straight shutouts, the Flyers will travel to Washington, D.C., to take on the Capitals as the Gr8 chase continues.

Things have not been too sunny in Philadelphia (despite the fact that it’s Always Sunny). They have gone 2-7-1 in their last 10 games. The Capitals have gone 7-3-0 in their previous 10 and have won their last two.

The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. EST. at Capital One Arena.

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Projected Lines

Forwards

Tyson Foerster – Noah Cates – Bobby Brink

Owen Tippett – Ryan Poehling – Travis Konecny

Olle Lycksell – Sean Couturier – Matvei Michkov

Nicolas Deslauriers – Rodrigo Abols – Jakob Pelletier

Defensemen

Cam York – Travis Sanheim

Nick Seeler – Jamie Drysdale

Emil Andrae – Egor Zamula

Goaltender

Ivan Fedotov

Power Play Units

PP1: Sean Couturier – Matvei Michkov – Travis Konecny – Bobby Brink – Jamie Drysdale

PP2:  Noah Cates – Olle Lycksell – Tyson Foerster – Travis Sanheim – Emil Andrae

Penalty Kill Units

PK1: Noah Cates – Travis Konecny – Cam York – Travis Sanheim

PK2:  Ryan Poehling – Nicolas Deslauriers – Nick Seeler – Egor Zamula

The Gr8 Chase

Capitals legend and future NHL Hall-of-Famer Alex Ovechkin is just seven goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 goals in the NHL; he is eight away from breaking the record.

It will not happen against the Flyers, but it will certainly be something to watch throughout Thursday’s game.

It is not every day you get to watch someone get closer and closer to history. Ovechkin will go down as one of the all-time greats.

Ovechkin has scored 51 goals against the Flyers throughout his career, making up 5.7% of his career goal totals. The Flyers are in a three-way tie for being the team he has scored against the second most with Carolina and Tampa. He has found the most scoring against Winnipeg (56).

After Thursday’s game, the next time the Flyers face Ovechkin, he will more likely than not be the all-time goals record holder.

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Just Score

The Flyers have not scored a goal in their last 140:59 of game time. The last Flyer to light the lamp was Ryan Poehling in the closing minute of the second period in their shootout win against Tampa.

The Flyers’ longest scoreless streak of the season is 182:27. It’s pretty disappointing that there have been multiple such streaks this year. The Flyers will have to score with more than 17:33 left in the third period of Thursday’s game to avoid matching or making this scoreless streak their worst of the season.

It does not matter who or how; the Flyers need to score early in Washington.

Read More: Breaking Down the Flyers’ Offensive Struggles

Getting Michkov Back on Track

Matvei Michkov is falling behind in the Calder Race. With the season winding down, Michkov is starting to look like the rookie skater who could be left out as a finalist for the Rookie of the Year award, as Calgary’s rookie netminder Dustin Wolf is getting his much-earned attention.

Michkov has had success against Washington so far in his young career. He has three goals and two assists against the Capitals in three career games. The last time the two teams met, Michkov had a two-goal game.

Michkov has seemingly suffered from the Flyers’ offensive woes late in the season, and it is causing him to slip behind the pack atop the rookie class.

Previous Matchups

The Capitals have dominated the season series. The Flyers have not been able to crack Washington yet this year, losing all three previous matchups.

The Capitals have outscored the Flyers 14-7 in three games this year.

Connor McMichael leads the Capitals in scoring against the Flyers this season with five points (3G, 2A) in the three games. Jakob Chychrun has two goals and an assist in three games vs. the Flyers this year. He is tied with Pierre-Luc Dubois, Dylan Strome, and Taylor Rayddish for the second-most points against the Flyers this season.

Matvei Michkov leads all Flyers in scoring vs. Washington this season with five points (3G, 2A). Jamie Drysdale is next with three assists.

Read More: A Look at Jamie Drysdale’s Recent Offensive Aggression

How to Watch

TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia, ESPN+

Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic

The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. EST. at Capital One Arena.

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