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Capitals: Top 3 key players to watch against Flyers

By Michael Marzzacco |
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates after scoring his first goal of the game against the Los Angeles Kings in the third period at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 04: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates after scoring his first goal of the game against the Los Angeles Kings in the third period at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Capitals left wing Alexander Alex Ovechkin (8) skates during warm ups before the Los Angeles Kings vs. Washington Capitals NHL game on February 4, 2020 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Capitals left wing Alexander Alex Ovechkin (8) skates during warm ups before the Los Angeles Kings vs. Washington Capitals NHL game on February 4, 2020 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Washington Capitals host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night with a chance to make some history.

Alex Ovechkin stands just two goals away from 700 goals and if he reaches it, it’ll be an incredible moment for the Washington Capitals and their fans. But there’s more than just Ovechkin to keep an eye on in this game.

The Capitals are coming off a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night. Jeff Carter scored twice for the visitors. John Carlson scored his first goal since December. Then it was Ovechkin’s heroics in a span of 4:24 in the third period to flip the score from a 2-1 deficit to a 4-2 dramatic come from behind victory.

The Flyers are coming off a 5-0 shutout at home to the New Jersey Devils. With a 29-18-7 record and 65 points, they’re fighting for a playoff spot and are on the outside looking in at third place in the wild card.

Although they were blanked by the Devils, the Flyers are still a threat in the division and perhaps a foe the Caps could meet in the first round. Saturday’s game could be a playoff preview.

So besides Ovechkin, who will be listed here, who else should we watch tonight?

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary (42) makes a pass during the Los Angeles Kings vs. Washington Capitals NHL game on February 4, 2020 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary (42) makes a pass during the Los Angeles Kings vs. Washington Capitals NHL game on February 4, 2020 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Martin Fehervary

In last night’s Hershey Bears game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Martin Fehervary was missing from the lineup and Caps twitter went crazy. Something was brewing either in the defensive lineup or in the rumor mill. Before morning skate the team announced that they recalled Fehervary from Hershey.

That wasn’t all. Fehervary was taking rushes with Dmitry Orlov on the second pair and that’s where he’ll be in the lineup tonight while Nick Jensen will serve as a healthy scratch. Fehervary will play on the left side while Orlov will play on the right.

We’ve seen Fehervary play in four Capitals game thus far this season and the rookie has averaged 15:51 time on ice per game. At five-on-five, Fehervary has recorded a shot attempt percentage of 54.10. He made his debut on opening night in St. Louis.

The second rounder was selected at 46th overall in the 2018 NHL Draft by the Capitals and has had a solid year up in Hershey, perhaps maybe good enough to earn him some playing time at the NHL level.

Fehervary has registered four goals and 10 assists for 14 points in 45 games. His 10 assists are tied for 18th among AHL defensemen.

Aside from Fehervary, there’s another defensemen to watch tonight.

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Radko Gudas #33 of the Washington Capitals skates with the puck against the Los Angeles Kings in the first period at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Radko Gudas #33 of the Washington Capitals skates with the puck against the Los Angeles Kings in the first period at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Radko Gudas

Facing his former team for the third time will be Radko Gudas, whom the Capitals acquired from the Flyers in exchange for Matt Niskanen. Last season Gudas recorded 20 points (four goals, 16 assists) in 77 games with the Flyers.

Gudas leads all Capitals defensemen and is second on the team in hits with 147. Last season, Gudas ranked third in the NHL among blueliners and 10th overall in hits with 255 and since 2012-13 Gudas has recorded 1,484 hits which is second among defensemen in that stretch and sixth in the league.

If Gudas can stay out of the box he’ll be a big help with the Caps penalty kill, which has had momentum as of late. The Caps have killed 29 of their last 32 penalties over their last 10 games and their kill percentage of 84.7 is ranked second in the NHL behind the San Jose Sharks who are at 86.9 percent.

Per the game notes, the Capitals 84.7 kill percentage is the highest it’s been since the 2015-16 season (85.2 percent) and the eighth-highest percentage in franchise history.

Gudas and his pairing partner Jonas Siegenthaler lead the pack when it comes to penalty kill time with Siegenthaler leading at 166:42 with Gudas at 147:32.

Of course there’s one more player to talk about and the choice is too obvious.

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals looks on in the first period against the Los Angeles Kings at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 04: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals looks on in the first period against the Los Angeles Kings at Capital One Arena on February 04, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Alex Ovechkin

The man of the night is none other than the great eight. Alex Ovechkin has two chances to score his 700th goal in front of the home fans and he gets his first crack at it tonight. With 698 on his career and his torrid pace, it’s going to come very soon.

Tonight is Ovechkin’s 1,138th career game and if he scores twice it would take the second-fewest games in NHL history to reach 700. It took Wayne Gretzky an astounding 886 games.

Almost two years ago was when Ovechkin notched his 600th goal and if Ovechkin scores both critical goals he’ll go from 600 to 700 in just 148 games, the fewest amount to make that leap for any member of the 700-goal club.

Ovechkin has averaged 0.61 goals per game which ranks fifth in NHL history including an NHL-best 0.59 rate since his 30th birthday proving once again that he can defy both age and father time.

Ovechkin is determined to get it done at home and him and Backstrom expressed that in an interview with Samantha Pell of The Washington Post (subscription required).

Ovechkin said:

“Yeah, obviously, it is just going to happen sometime. Hope it is next game, but if not, that is okay. We have another one.”

Backstrom added:

“I know he wants to get it out of the way, so hopefully he gets it done as soon as possible. It’s a nice milestone, and it’s been incredible watching him for this many years and hopefully for more years, too. I think me personally, I am just happy for him.”

More. Capitals vs. Flyers game info. light

Those are our top 3 key players to watch tonight. Enjoy the game Caps fans. Here’s hoping we get a chance to witness something special.

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