The Washington Capitals fell to the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 in their final meeting of the season and in the Reverse Retro jersey for the last time. Alex Ovechkin scored the lone goal for the Capitals, having scored a goal every time the Caps donned the Screaming Eagle.
Scott Laughton scored on the power play at 13:16 to put the Flyers up 1-0. Alex Ovechkin tied it for his 30th goal of the season and 810th of his career to put him 84 behind Wayne Gretzky at 17:56.
1-1 was the score with the Caps leading in shots 7-5.
The Caps led in shots 14-11 in the second period but it would be the Flyers that would take over the rest of the game.
James van Riemsdyk gave the Flyers the lead at 4:51. Wade Allison added to the lead at 5:40 to make it 3-1.
The Caps outshot the Flyers 19-9 in the third period and 40-25 overall but couldn’t solve Carter Hart.
The Caps made a big change to their forward lines before the game scratching Dylan Strome to the dismay of many fans.
Head Coach Peter Laviolette explained that decision:
"“Dylan has played great for us so he will be back in there, it is just these are tough decisions. I have to keep a balanced lineup in there … he’s done a good job. He will be back in.”"
Darcy Kuemper talked about not having any panic despite losing two in a row:
"“I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. Obviously, losing two in a row to the same team doesn’t sit well with us, but we’ve got a big back-to-back coming up, and that’s got to be our focus.”"
That back to back begins on Monday night at the New York Islanders and concludes with a home game Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild. Can the Caps right the ship and turn things back around?