Flyers take down Capitals again, improve to 7-1-0 since holiday break originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Flyers’ best hockey under John Tortorella continued Saturday night.
The club picked up a 3-1 win over the Capitals at Capital One Arena to sweep its home-and-home set against Washington.
Travis Konecny’s 10-game point streak ended, but the Flyers got balanced production as Scott Laughton, James van Riemsdyk and Wade Allison found the back of the net.
Laughton, Tony DeAngelo, Joel Farabee, Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost and Kevin Hayes all recorded an assist.
Carter Hart was outstanding in net.
The Flyers (18-18-7) are 7-1-0 since the NHL-mandated holiday break, a stretch in which they’ve scored 4.00 goals per game and have yielded just 2.25.
Their .875 points percentage is the best in hockey over that span.
The Flyers went 2-1-1 against the Capitals (23-16-6) this season.
Prior to these two straight losses to the Flyers, Washington was 13-2-2 over its past 17 games.
• The Flyers haven’t played this well in over two and half years.
It’s definitely looking like they at least have better ingredients than many thought.
Five forwards in their top six are 25 years old or younger. Their bottom six has a decent blend of offense and defense. Their defensive pairs are pretty balanced. And they have an established 24-year-old starting goalie and a 23-year-old backup who has shown promise.
The Flyers improved to 16-4-4 when they score three or more goals. That has been the key: offense.
They’ve scored three or more goals in 11 of their last 12 games.
The Flyers were going to have to be a defensive team in this transitional season. Right now, they’re seeing positive strides from their youth up front, along with good support from their more established players.
Not sure people are saying playoffs, but the Flyers’ future doesn’t look as bleak following the dreadful 25-46-11 season last year.
• Hart swept the home-and-home set against the Capitals. He denied 39 of 40 shots Saturday after a 26-save performance in Wednesday’s 5-3 victory over Washington.
The 24-year-old had to convert 19 saves in the third period Saturday as the Capitals, in a two-goal hole, made their push.
Hart was great all night.
Frost had a brutal turnover that led to Alex Ovechkin’s game-tying first-period marker. Along the goal line in the Flyers’ defensive zone, Frost put the puck through his legs and toward the circle. The future Hall of Famer Ovechkin pounced on it and eventually got it past Hart.
Frost made up for it with an assist on van Riemsdyk’s second-period goal that put the Flyers back in front, 2-1. The goal came against the Ovechkin line, so Tortorella’s continued trust in the van Riemsdyk-Frost-Tippett line was rewarded.
Washington netminder Darcy Kuemper faced 25 shots from the Flyers and stopped 22 of them.
• Under-the-radar defensive efforts Saturday:
Allison played like an ideal third-liner with his second-period goal, six hits and three blocked shots.
Fourth-line center Patrick Brown was good on the Flyers’ penalty kill, which went 3 for 3 against the always-dangerous Capitals man advantage.
Rasmus Ristolainen has been very reliable since mid-December and that continued.
• Laughton opened the game’s scoring in the first period with his fifth power play goal. The 28-year-old alternate captain entered this season with zero power play goals in his NHL career.
He has become an all-situation leader for the Flyers. Over his last 18 games, Laughton has 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists).
Laughton and Konecny each have five man advantage goals and three shorthanded goals.
• The Flyers’ hot streak runs into the 33-5-4 Bruins with a Monday afternoon puck drop on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (1 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
Boston is 20-1-3 at home.
It’s the first game of a back-to-back set for the Flyers, who host the Ducks on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET/NBCSP).
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