Fansided

The good, the bad, the ugly against Philadelphia Flyers

We've got one more postgamer before we pivot towards Tampa Bay

By Michael Marzzacco |
Pierre-Luc Dubois, Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Pierre-Luc Dubois, Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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The Washington Capitals are red hot so we figured we'd end the two game stomp of the Philadelphia Flyers by looking at the good, the bad, and the ugly from the game.

We'll start with the ugly

The ugly: The second period Wednesday night

That lead almost disappeared Wednesday night and had that happened the Caps would've been in some serious trouble. The Caps did get their fifth win in a row while the Flyers cratered to 1-5-1.

Down the stretch the Caps had a 4-0 lead but that deficit was cut to 4-3 pretty quickly beginning with an outburst of shots in the second period. Still, the Caps did just enough to hang on for the win.

"There was a lot of, call them dicey situations there protecting that lead," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery explained to Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post. "But we dug in and did enough to get two points against a team that was pretty desperate tonight."

It was a slow start for both teams in the second night of the back to back. That is normal. Giving up 17 shots in one period alone isn't and that's what happened in the mid frame Wednesday night.

Nic Dowd, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Nic Dowd, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The bad: More second period chaos

It's a blessing and a curse when both teams find their legs in the second night of the back to back. For the team that is favored, the pressure is on them. For the underdogs, a lot to prove. The Flyers almost snake bit the Caps but couldn't.

The second period started with Nic Dowd going to the box for holding 27 seconds in. The Caps would kill that penalty and Dowd would score 22 seconds after emerging from the sin bin with a feed from Rasmus Sandin. Connor McMichael would then dent the twine twice.

John Tortorella's coached Flyers fought back as they always do. That comes from any team coached by Torts. Travis Konecny scored on the power play to put the Flyers on the board by beating Logan Thompson with a wrist shot. Then Owen Tippett scored to pull the Flyers to within two.

Carbery added, "You could tell we were absolutely gassed, physcially and mentally. Poor decisions and back on our heels." The Flyers would cut the defict to 4-3 with a power play goal by rookie Matvei Michkov.

Alright enough with the bad let's end the article on the good note.

Connor McMichael, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Connor McMichael, Washington Capitals Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

The good: Everything right now

While the second period was bad the vibes are good all around town. The Commanders are kicking butt in the NFL. Hoops has started with the Wizards. And of course your Washington Capitals have won five in a row.

Wednesday night Taylor Raddysh commended the performance of Thompson:

He had some really big saves. Obviously there's some that could've found the back of the net, but he was there to make the big save. He's been doing that quite well. We've just got to keep trying to defend better in front of him and try to limit those chances.
Taylor Raddysh

After the Caps missed a power play opportunity the Flyers pulled Ivan Fedotov for an extra attacker but it once again backfired like it did in April in the form of two empty net goals. The first one from Pierre-Luc Dubois. The second one from none other than Alex Ovechkin to put him 40 behind Wayne Gretzky.

Once again your friendly neighborhood Spiderman reminder the Caps practice today in Arlington before hitting the road for Tampa Bay for a Saturday night clash with the Lightning. Still plenty of season left but things are looking up.

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