The Philadelphia Flyers (2-5-0) and Washington Capitals (1-5-1) have been perennial contenders for the last few years. The Flyers won the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference last year and made a run to the second run of the playoffs. The Capitals entered the playoffs as a seven seed but took down the defending champions on route to pushing the top seeded New York Rangers to seven games. However, neither team has looked like a bonafide contender in the early going.
The Flyers are coming off a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers and have now lost three of four division games. With just four points, the Flyers are in the cellar of the Atlantic division and are five points out of the top spot. Given the poor goaltending last year, many expected Ilya Bryzgalov to continue struggling. However, the netminder has put up solid numbers this season with a 2.19 goals against average (GAA) and 92.4 save percentage. The departure of Matt Carle and continued absence of Chris Pronger was also expected to hurt the defense, but the Flyers' blueline has been competent through seven games. The main culprit for the Flyer's poor start has been the offense. The Flyer's had one of the most potent forward groups last season but have yet to put together consistent goal scoring. Captain Claude Giroux broke out for a 93 point campaign in 2011-12 but only has four points through seven games. More importantly, he has just two assists in the last five games for Philadelphia.
Leading Scorers
Points: Wayne Simmonds (5)
Goals: Matt Read (3)
Assists: Wayne Simmonds (3)
GAA: Ilya Bryzgalov (2.19 GAA)
SV %: Ilya Bryzgalov (.924)
The Washington Capitals have won just once in seven tries and are coming off a devastating 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Unlike the Flyers, the Capitals have looked poor in all areas of the game. They are 28th in goals against (25) and 23rd in goals scored (15). Their special teams are 18th (power play) and 23rd (penalty kill) in the league as well. Superstar winger Alex Ovechkin has three points in seven games and has just two goals. The team has gotten solid play from summer acquisition Mike Ribiero (nine points) and Joel Ward, but the top players need to step up if this team has any hopes of winning.
Leading Scorers
Points: Mike Ribiero (9)
Goals: Joel Ward (4)
Assists: Mike Ribiero (7)
GAA: Michal Neuvirth (2.97 GAA)
SV %: Michal Neuvirth (.899)
Previous Meetings:
The Flyers won three of the four meetings between the two teams last season.
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WSH @ PHI |
PHI, 2 - 1 |
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PHI @ WSH |
PHI, 1 - 0 |
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PHI @ WSH |
PHI, 5 - 1 |
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WSH @ PHI |
WSH, 5 - 2 |
Predictions: The Flyers look like the better team and will win this game 4-3.
Start Time: 7PM EST
TV: RDS, CSN-Philadelphia, CSN-DC
TV: SNET-EDM, CSN-CA
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