Philadelphia Flyers vs Washington Capitals: Pregame Report

The Washington Capitals will host the Philadelphia Flyers at the Verizon Center on Tuesday, December 13. The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. as the Caps and Flyers face off for the second time this season.

With their 4-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday, the Caps are now riding a two-game winning streak and are now 3-3 under Dale Hunter. A win over the Flyers on Tuesday would extend their streak to three games, which is the longest streak since the seven straight wins at the beginning of the season.

The Caps have seemingly begun to adjust to Hunter’s new coaching strategies. Certain aspects of Washington’s game have really clicked in their last few outings—most noticeably, the power play. All four of their goals against Toronto came on the PP. The Caps may want to take advantage of Philly’s penalty killing, which has been less than ideal recently.

Between Dennis Wideman’s four-point night on Friday (two goals, two assists) and John Carlson being named the NHL’s third star of last week, it seems that the Caps have some of the most valuable defensemen right now.

Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin has played some of his best hockey in his last two games. Ideally, Ovechkin would carry the momentum from these last two wins into this game against Philly on Tuesday night. In addition, with the fact that Ovechkin has 22 goals and 15 assists in his 23 career games against the Flyers, it would be no surprise to see Ovechkin make it on the score-sheet Tuesday.

The Flyers, who are currently at the top of the Eastern conference, look to extend their five-game winning streak.

However, they will be without Claude Giroux. Giroux, who is leading the NHL in scoring, sustained an injury during their game against Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Veteran Flyer Jaromir Jagr, currently tied with Brendan Shanahan for 11^th in career goals in the NHL, has seven points (four goals, three assists) over the stretch of Philly’s current streak. Jagr, however, was held off the score-sheet last time the Caps and the Flyers met. It will be interesting to see if that is the case this time around.

On top of Giroux’s absence on Tuesday, Flyers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov left Saturday’s game in the third period with a lower-body injury. Even though he is expected to start on Tuesday, it remains to be known whether or not that injury will affect his performance.

For the Flyers, this game is all about keeping their stellar winning streak rolling as they gear up to face the New York Rangers in the Winter Classic. As for the Caps, a win against the Flyers on Tuesday would do wonders for the team’s momentum and confidence.

Proving that the Caps can stay consistent under Dale Hunter’s coaching is a huge necessity right now.

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