Can the Washington Capitals keep winning when Philadelphia comes to town?
The Washington Capitals have been in a brutal stretch of games lately, playing the likes of Columbus, Montreal, Pittsburgh and Chicago. Despite the tough opponents, the Capitals have been playing some excellent hockey and currently have an eight-game win streak. Up next is big Eastern Conference game at Verizon Center against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Washington will be looking for a different result this time around, as the Flyers got a 3-2 shootout win at Verizon Center on December 21.
After starting the season slow and playing some inconsistent hockey, the Caps have certainly turned a corner. Washington is getting scoring from all four lines, including several defensemen. Guys like Daniel Winnik, Jay Beagle and Nath Schmidt have played big roles.
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Of course, the stars on the team haven’t been overshadowed.
Top center Nicklas Backstrom has 10 points in the last five games, and Alexander Ovechkin has seven points in his last five contests. Ovechkin recently eclipsed the 1,000-point mark.
Also, the defense has been superb.
The Caps have only allowed two or more goals three times in the last eight games and the penalty kill ranks No. 3 in the league. As a team, Washington is ranked first, allowing an average of just two goals a game.
Of course, a big part of the defense has been goalie Braden Holtby.
He struggled a bit at the start of the year, but lately he has been playing like the Vezina Trophy winner. He pitched a shutout of the Blackhawks in the last game and has three shutouts in the last five games. After being pulled in the first period against Toronto on January 3, Holtby has started five games and allowed just three goals.
Philadelphia enters Sunday’s game fresh off a 6-3 loss in Boston on Saturday. The Flyers have been struggling and have lost eight of their last 10. Still, they can be a dangerous team and are top-10 in the league when it comes to goals scored.
Jakub Voracek leads the Flyers with 40 points. Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds and Brayden Schenn have also been big producers on offense.
The problem in Philadelphia has been the goaltending. Both Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth have struggled at times.
Washington will be looking for revenge on the Flyers when the puck drops Sunday afternoon. The time has been changed to 1:00 p.m. due to the change of the NFL game.