The Philadelphia Flyers’ season came to a close after a 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Washington Capitals. While this game was tied 1-1 late in the third, the Detroit Red Wings tied their game up with about four seconds left to force overtime and effectively eliminate the Flyers out of playoff contention.
Joel Farabee looked to have given the Flyers an early lead in the game, but the referees had lost sight of the puck before it crossed the line, blowing the play dead. Although it was reviewed, they deemed that because it hit Farabee as it came back down and went into the net, they could not overturn the call.
Alex Ovechkin then gave the Capitals a lead late in the first before Sean Couturier tied things up heading into the final 20 minutes. It was a tightly contested game but with the Flyers believing they had to pull their netminder to win in regulation, T.J. Oshie took advantage of some sloppy play and iced the game for his club with 3 minutes left.
Samuel Ersson made 16 saves on 17 shots in the defeat while Charlie Lindgren picked up his second win in 24 hours with a stellar performance in goal, making 27 saves along the way.
The Flyers brought it all the way to game 82 and with a regulation victory tonight against the Capitals, aided by victories from Montréal (tonight) and the New York Islanders (tomorrow), the postseason would have gone from dream to reality. However, step 1 was ensuring a victory in regulation against the surging Capitals, who took care of business last night against the Boston Bruins.
After back-to-back victories against the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils to ensure that this game mattered, the Flyers rolled with an identical lineup, more or less hoping for an identical result. Samuel Ersson earned his 32nd start in the team’s last 36 games, looking to end his 2023-24 rookie season on a high note.
As for the Capitals, they entered the confines of the Wells Fargo Center having won 3 of their last 4 games and had earned a point in 4 of their last 5 games. With a daunting schedule to end the season, which included games against Tampa Bay, Boston, and the Flyers, the Capitals had strung along two massive victories looking for a third to punch their ticket to the playoffs.
Offensively they are led by Dylan Strome‘s 67 points in 81 games, Alex Ovechkin‘s 30 goals and 64 points in 78 games, and John Carlson‘s 42 assists and 52 points in 81 games. Ovechkin in particular has had a great second-half of the season with 24 goals and 44 points in his last 45 games. His chase for Wayne Gretzky‘s all-time record wasn’t looking too great until he rattled off 22 goals in a 32-game span between the end of January and the beginning of April.
In goal, the Capitals went right back to Charlie Lindgren, who recorded a shutout about 24 hours ago. He entered tonight with a 24-16-7 record, a .910 SV%, and a 2.71 GAA to go along with 6 shutouts. When the offense was drying up, Lindgren was the consistent backbone for the Capitals during their run to the postseason, while also keeping Darcy Kuemper at bay.
FIRST PERIOD
Although the Washington Capitals played last night, they looked to be the more ready of the two clubs to start this one. They opened the game with a shot ringing off the post, had a couple high danger chances that started from the point, and they held the Philadelphia Flyers without an official shot on goal until the 8:17 mark.
Their first shot on goal ended up in the net but the referees seemed to have blown the whistle dead after losing sight of the puck. Joel Farabee fired a shot off the wing, the puck went high in the air after it was blockered aside, came down and went off of Farabee and into the net but the referee had blown his whistle in between as he had lost sight of the puck.
After a lengthy chat with the situation room – which seemed shocking to begin with – they confirmed the call on the ice.
At the 9:03 mark, Tyson Foerster was tripped up by Tom Wilson in the offensive zone, sending the 32nd-ranked power play onto the ice looking for their first tally in their last 10 games – a stretch where they’ve gone 0-for-23. 40 seconds into the man advantage, Aliaksei Protas was robbed on his shorthanded breakaway attempt by the shoulder of Samuel Ersson. The Flyers had one solid chance afterwards but not enough sustained pressure to break the deadlock.
With 1:52 remaining in the period, Alex Ovechkin got the Capitals on the board after a slap-shot from the point deflected off the shaft of his stick and past Ersson. The initial shot from Dylan McIlrath was going well wide but it fortunately hit Ovechkin as he secured his 31st of the season and first goal in four games.
The period came to a close with the Capitals ahead 1-0 and both clubs each firing 7 shots on goal. The referees had a tough period after blowing the whistle too soon before the Flyers should have opened the scoring, and then missing two or three blatant penalties against the Capitals.
SECOND PERIOD
With 7:31 remaining in the middle frame and both teams locked up in a tight contest, the Flyers tied the game after Erik Johnson, who was stationed in front of the net, seemingly deflected an Egor Zamula point shot past Charlie Lindgren. The goal was initially credited to Sean Couturier, who was in the vicinity as well, but Johnson picked up his second goal as a Flyer and fifth on the season.
The floodgates opened after the tying goal and the Flyers looked like the team that had three days in between games rather than playing in a back-to-back situation. Momentum had shifted and they were buzzing shift after shift, looking to take the lead before the final horn and they came within inches of doing so had Travis Konecny been able to slightly elevate the puck.
The Flyers tied things up in the latter half of the period and finally found their skating legs, setting the stage for a wild third period where if it remained tied late in the game, John Tortorella might be forced into pulling his netminder to try to win the game in regulation.
THIRD PERIOD
Halfway through the third period, the Flyers and Capitals gave one another no room, no space, and nothing to operate with as the shots were just 4-3 for Philadelphia.
With about three minutes remaining in regulation, the Capitals jumped on a Flyers turnover right after Ersson was pulled and T.J. Oshie iced the game. All the while that was happoening, the Detroit Red Wings tied the game with about four seconds remaining to force overtime and end any hopes the Flyers had.
The Flyers pulled Ersson again, but to no avail, as the Capitals held on for a crucial 2-1 victory and punched their ticket into the playoffs.
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