Caps Head to Philly

March 6 vs. Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center
Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV:NBCSN
Radio: Capitals Radio 24/7, FAN 106.7
Washington Capitals 38-21-7
Philadelphia Flyers 32-26-8

Washington finishes up a three-game road stretch on Wednesday night in Philadelphia when it faces the Flyers for just the second time this season. Wednesday's game is the first of three meetings between the two Metropolitan Division rivals in a span of just 19 days this month.
The Caps are taking aim of a clean sweep of a three-game road stretch to start off the month of March. Washington knocked off the Islanders in Uniondale on Friday and downed the Rangers on Sunday afternoon, taking home four points from a prosperous weekend in New York. After a couple of practice sessions at home, Washington heads up I-95 for the third leg of the road stretch in the City of Brotherly Love.
Well into the final quarter of the regular season, the Caps are carrying a four-game winning streak with them to Philadelphia, and they've also won six of their last seven. With just 16 games remaining, the Capitals know this is the time to keep their foot on the gas.

"At this time of the year, everybody has to take a step forward in their game," says Caps captain Alex Ovechkin, who supplied the game-winning shootout "goal" on Sunday against the Rangers, despite having his eight-game scoring streak snapped. "Everybody has to understand right now it's a time to wake up and work hard, to get some points and make the playoffs. You can see every team right now is pretty close to each other. It's not a big difference between us and Pittsburgh and Columbus - maybe four or five points. But if you lose two games, you're out of the playoffs. So you have to be ready for it."
Of the Caps' four straight victories, only one has been achieved against a team that is currently in the playoff picture, and that was a 3-1 win over the Islanders in New York on Friday. You can only play the teams the schedule sends your way, so the Caps will take the points and expect that the recent uptick in their game - they are 11-4-1 since the All-Star break - will also translate against the league's better teams, and against teams like Philadelphia that are putting forth strong surges in a late bid for a playoff berth.
"It's obviously big for us to start playing the right way that way," says Caps goalie Braden Holtby. "Obviously, we do have to be realistic with the teams that we have played during that stretch, and the teams that we have coming up here. It's going to be a lot different. But we have confidence from this little stretch, and we know that we are going to have to be even better playing against some really high-powered offenses, and it will be a fun test this next little stretch."

Earlier this season, Philadelphia made changes in the both the general manager's chair and behind the bench. In late November, the Flyers relieved GM Ron Hextall of his duties, replacing him with Chuck Fletcher. Just before Christmas, coach Dave Hakstol was shown the door and he was replaced by Scott Gordon, formerly the Islanders bench boss. Gordon had been at the helm of Philly's AHL Lehigh Valley affiliate before being promoted on an interim basis.
Given the success the Flyers have had under Gordon, the team may be considering lifting the "interim" part of that title. In the days leading up to the NHL's holiday break, the Flyers won three of their first four games under Gordon's direction. But a rocky 0-6-2 stretch followed immediately after the break, a stretch that concluded with a 5-3 loss to the Caps in Washington on Jan. 8 in the only prior meeting between the two teams this season.
Over the last two months, Philadelphia has been among the hottest teams in the league. The Flyers won eight straight at one point, and they own a 17-4-2 record since their last meeting with the Capitals. Philadelphia has been just plus-4 at five-on-five during that run, but they've been plus-eight on special teams during that span, and they've posted an impressive 9-1-2 record in one-goal games during that run.
Like the Caps, Philly has started off the month of March with a pair of road wins over division rivals, defeating the Devils and the Islanders, respectively. But the Flyers aren't at peak health coming into Wednesday's game with Washington.
Noted Caps killer Jakub Voracek is expected to miss Wednesday's game because of a lower body injury, and sophomore center Nolan Patrick's status for the game is unsure; he suffered an upper body injury in Sunday's win over the Islanders. Over the course of the Flyers' last 23 games, Voraceck has seven goals and 24 points while playing in 22 of those games; he is second on the club behind only Sean Couturier (12-18-30) during that stretch. Patrick has seven goals and 15 points in Philly's last 23 games, seventh in scoring over that span, but tied for fifth in goals.

The Flyers are also without rookie goaltender Carter Hart, whose midseason recall from Lehigh Valley helped spark the team. One of an NHL record eight goaltenders who have started in net for the Flyers this season, Hart has been the best of the lot with a 10-4-1 record, a 2.79 GAA and a .917 save pct. in his first 15 starts in the league.
Veteran Brian Elliott has been named the starter in goal for Philadelphia in Wednesday's clash with the Caps. Elliott missed about three months of the season with a lower body injury, but he has been excellent since returning to action late last month. In six appearances (four starts) since coming off of injured reserve, Elliott is 3-0-1 with a 2.28 GAA and a .936 save pct.