Recap; Game 74/82: Philadelphia Flyers at Washington Capitals

Despite all the bumps, lumps, and bruises shared between the Philadelphia Flyers (37-25-12) and the Washington Capitals (38-28-9), the Flyers fell short on the road.

Philadelphia learned a couple of lessons. First, they cannot afford to play an undisciplined brand of hockey. If they’re serious about a postseason berth, and they are, the penalties that wipe away the hard work cannot happen. Secondly, they must dictate the checking. That’s a very crucial trait of successful postseason teams, which the Flyers spent most of their time trying to match the Capitals.

“Coaches always say ‘learning lesson,’ but they [Washington Capitals] came out the first ten, twelve [minutes] and tried to bully us. I thought after that, we started to get our game. It’s good for some guys to understand that they got to be ready to go. We had a game plan; we were taking hits we shouldn’t have. We got in bad positions, we understood that, and we started to come. I thought our five-on-five play was good. Obviously, they won the special teams. That was the difference in the game.” – Rick Tocchet; 3/31/2026

Lately, Philadelphia has accumulated points in the NHL Standings by sticking to its game plan. Washington got under the skin of the Flyers early and often.

A lack of defensive structure, a lack of execution on special teams, and a couple of soft goals surrendered by Dan Vladař summed up the 6-4 loss. Philadelphia found ways to get pucks past Logan Thompson, but wasn’t effective in the fine details. This would be a prime example of a game that prioritizes on-ice play over the box score. The Flyers were passive, effectively taking their foot off the gas at the most inopportune times.

This loss stands as a large ‘what-if.’ Philadelphia is still two points out of the second NHL Eastern Conference Wildcard. In the NHL Metropolitan Division, the Flyers are three points out of a postseason berth.

First Period

Shots on Goal: 11-5, Flyers
Score: 2-0, Capitals

The very first thing Porter Martone did in his NHL career was serve a minor penalty for delaying the game. He flipped the puck over the boards. Sean Couturier and Garnet Hathaway cleared the defensive zone while Noah Cates killed extra time in the offensive zone. This would be the only successful penalty kill for Philadelphia.

Cracks in the defensive armor were present in the first period. Matt Roy went undetected from behind Vladař, settling between Owen Tippett and Christian Dvorak. Roy didn’t get a hold of the puck for what would’ve been otherwise a solid scoring chance. Then Tom Wilson and Alex Ovechkin started laying the lumber to Trevor Zegras and Cam York. The Capitals started to take control of the first period, with the exception of a couple of quality shots on goal from Travis Konecny.

Cole Hutson served a minor penalty for tripping. Cates, Tippett, and Matvei Michkov were credited with shots on goal but were unable to convert. The Flyers finished 0/4 (0%) on the power play.

Wilson put Washington ahead, 1-0, with 5:01 remaining in the first period. Pierre-Luc Dubois entered with the puck and dropped a pass to Wilson. Travis Sanheim allowed shooting space, and Wilson beat Vladař with a snap shot from the point. Vladař needed to make that save.

Ovechkin extended the lead, 2-0, with 1:25 remaining in the first period. Connor McMichael entered with the puck, then put on the brakes with Jamie Drysdale in coverage. Roy joined the rush behind Konecny, then crossed the puck to Ovechkin at the crease. York fumbled the opportunity to clear the high-danger area, thus Ovechkin scored.

Second Period

Shots on Goal: 16-13, Flyers
Score: 4-2, Capitals

Zegras and McMichael served concurrent minor penalties for slashing. Sanheim cut the Capitals’ lead in half, 2-1, with 19:21 remaining in the second period. Originally, the officials called off the goal due to goaltender interference. Rick Tocchet challenged the call, and the goal stood. Dvorak entered with the puck and dished the puck out to Konecny, who secured the primary assist.

Carl Grundström tied the game, 2-2, with 15:24 remaining in the second period. York dumped the puck into the offensive zone, then Zegras intercepted a bank off the boards by Roy. Immediately, Zegras found Grundström cutting through the slot. Grundström was more patient than Thompson, then sank his wrist shot.

Konecny served a minor penalty for tripping. Jakob Chychrun put Washington back into the lead, 3-2, with 13:02 remaining in the second period. Dubois won the faceoff, Ryan Leonard swung the puck to Chychrun, and Chychrun beat Vladař with a slap shot. Again, that’s one Vladař needs to stop.

“We just can’t take those stick penalties. They’re killers. I got to give the team credit, we’ve been really disciplined with penalties and when we were in January, that’s the time the penalties were taken. So, we got to nip it in the bud.” – Rick Tocchet; 3/31/2026

For the second time in the period, Zegras visited the penalty box. He served a minor penalty for tripping. Leonard added another power play goal, 4-2, with 2:23 remaining in the second period. Dubois located Leonard with room to set his feet for the snapshot, using Nick Seeler as a screen. Philadelphia finished 1/3 (33.3%) on the penalty kill after allowing back-to-back power play goals.

Third Period

Shots on Goal: 24-18, Flyers
Score: 6-4, Capitals

Dvorak cut into the Capitals’ lead, 4-3, with 19:27 remaining in the third period. Martone, on the entry, had Konecny on a two-on-one, but his pass was blocked by Rasmus Sandin. Sanheim collected the loose puck, dished to Konecny for a shot that hit the outside of the net. Credit to Konecny, who chased his missed shot, then notched the primary assist when Dvorak scored.

As soon as the Flyers shaved the deficit down to one, Ovechkin scored his second goal of the game, 5-3, with 16:13 remaining in the third period. Dylan Strome won the faceoff. Chychrun tried to feed the pass to Ovechkin, but Drysdale blocked the pass. It didn’t matter because McMichael recovered the puck and fed Ovechkin for the primary assist. Ovechkin scored his 30th and 31st goals in 2025-2026 versus Philadelphia.

Denver Barkey put the Flyers within striking distance again, 5-4, with 12:08 remaining in the third period. Rasmus Ristolainen contained the puck in the offensive zone, placing his shot on goal. On the way, Barkey deflected the puck past Thompson.

Emil Andrae and Justin Sourdif served concurrent minor penalties for roughing. Philadelphia scored earlier at four-on-four, but this time, neither team recorded a shot on goal. Sourdif had a small breakaway chance on Vladař, but he missed wide of the net.

Tocchet pulled Vladař for the six-on-five advantage. Wilson iced the Flyers, 6-4, with 1:04 remaining in the third period. He scored the empty-net goal to secure the win for Washington.

Up Next

Next, the Philadelphia Flyers host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. The puck drops at 7pm/ET.