Caps Topple Flyers, 5-4

Washington's fourth line accounted for three goals to help the Caps to a 5-4 win over the Flyers in Philadelphia on Saturday night. The victory is the Caps' fourth straight, matching their longest winning run of the season. Three of those triumphs came at the Flyers' expense this weekend.

For the second time in as many games against the Flyers in Philly, Caps center Nic Dowd supplied the game-winning tally. Linemate Carl Hagelin also scored, and Nick Jensen netted a dazzling goal - his second goal in the last four games, both against the Flyers - while out with Dowd's line.
"To be honest we've had some good looks in the past, and they didn't go in," says Dowd. and that was you know kind of frustrating for us. And then we had a little spurt where we were giving up some goals, and we felt that we were still playing the right way, and some stuff was going in. So yeah, it felt good to get some bounces and it felt good that it took to get rewarded."
The Caps never trailed in Saturday's win, but once again they had a multi-goal lead trimmed to the slimmest of margins in the third. Philadelphia mounted a comeback in the third for the second straight game, but they've now dropped five of their last seven games in regulation.

"I thought we played a good game from start to finish," says Flyers coach Alain Vigneault. "Guys competed - we're not going to be perfect - but they competed hard, made some good plays at the right time, got some good looks. Unfortunately, the game - results-wise - didn't go our way, but the battle level was there and we worked right to the end."
The Caps jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in Saturday's tilt with the Flyers, getting a transition tally before the game was five minutes old. Philadelphia turned the puck over to Evgeny Kuznetsov in neutral ice, and the Caps center sent Jakub Vrana into the Flyers' zone. Vrana took a shot, and Philly goalie Brian Elliott made the stop. But Daniel Sprong backhanded the rebound in, rolling it down Elliott's back and in at 4:40 of the first.
A few minutes after snuffing out a Philadelphia power play, the Caps doubled their lead on another rebound strike. The Flyers lost the handle at their own line as they were attempting to break the puck out, and Garnet Hathaway made a neat play high in the zone to keep it in and get it to Nick Jensen at the right point. Elliott stopped Jensen's low, hard drive, but Hagelin was at the top of the paint to tuck the rebound home for a 2-0 Washington lead at 13:21.
The Caps were caught on their heels early in the second, and they were dented for a pair of Flyers goals before the first television timeout. Those two Philly tallies were sandwiched around a beauty of a goal from Jensen.
First, Philadelphia winger James van Riemsdyk scored from the slot at 2:36 after a Sprong turnover. Jensen got that one back for Washington less than half a minute later, chasing Elliott to the bench in favor of Carter Hart in the process.
The Flyers won a right dot draw in Washington ice, and seven seconds later the puck was in the back of their net. Right off the draw, Hagelin blocked a Jakub Voracek shot and the puck bounded out to neutral ice, with the speedy Jensen in dogged pursuit. He won the race to the puck and ripped a shot past Elliott from the right dot, picking the far corner to make it a 3-1 game at 3:05.
Less than three minutes later, the Flyers pulled to within a goal on another turnover as the Caps failed to exit their zone cleanly. Philly kept the puck in at the Washington line, and Voracek set up Nolan Patrick for a one-timer from the left circle at 5:47, making it a 3-2 contest.
The Flyers had a chance to draw even on a power play minutes later, but Hathaway drew a holding call on Sanheim that resulted in an abbreviated man advantage for Washington. The Caps cashed in, with Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson combining to set up Alex Ovechkin from his left circle office. Rather than the prototypical one-timer, this time the Caps captain slipped a wrist shot through a screen and past Hart to restore Washington's two-goal lead at 13:10 of the second.

Early in the third, Washington extended its lead to 5-2 on Dowd's third goal in two games. Parked at the top of the paint, Dowd got a piece of Hathaway's shot from center point and the puck trickled through Hart's legs and rolled over the goal line at 4:25 of the third.
The Caps had the game well in hand for most of the final frame. They kept pressing in the Philadelphia zone, and a third period power play opportunity produced a number of prime scoring chances, but no markers.
The Flyers crept back into the contest when Shayne Gostisbehere scored a power-play goal from the left point with 6:53 remaining in the third, getting the Flyers to within a pair at 5-3. Vigneault pulled Hart for an extra attacker with just under four minutes remaining, and a minute after that, Claude Giroux made it a 5-4 contest with a one-timer from the left circle.
Washington battened down the hatches the rest of the way, notching its fourth straight win on the strength of its fourth line.
"They've been really good all year," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette, "They've taken on big assignments and they've handled it really well. They really try to play the system to a tee, they work hard, they create and they generate. On a night like tonight when it's a big game and a playoff type feel to it, it's nice to see those guys chip in and help the team out the way they did.
"They've been excellent. They always work hard, but sometimes [despite] all their work and the chances, they don't go in and so they just keep working. Tonight, they dropped for us and it was really important."