POSTGAME NOTEBOOK: Caps 6, Flyers 1

Faraway You - For much of the 2020-21 season, the Capitals have found themselves embroiled in close contests and tight games. Twenty of their first 41 games were decided by a single goal, including six straight at one point. But in each of their last two games now, the Caps have roared out to a big early lead and coasted to victory.

Two nights after they put an 8-1 beating on the Bruins in Boston, the Caps came home and pounded the Flyers 6-1 on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena. A three-goal first period fueled their rout in Beantown, and they went one better with a four-goal first frame against the Flyers.
For the second time in as many games, Washington's power play erupted for three goals. The Caps got goals from six different forwards in Tuesday's win, and three of then team's four forward lines contributed a 5-on-5 goal to the cause as Ilya Samsonov made 29 saves to claim his 10th win of the season (10-3-1).
The big early leads made for some rare late "garbage" time in the latter stages of the last two games.
"It's different I think, going out for the third period," says Caps right wing T.J. Oshie. "I personally like the intensity of the closer games - as far as just purely playing hockey - but it is fun seeing a bunch of different guys scoring goals. I think I get up more for [Carl Hagelin's] goal than any of my goals.
"It's great seeing different guys throughout the lineup produce and obviously some of the big the big dogs are still putting the puck in the back of the net."
Conor Sheary had three points (one goal, two assists) - his first three-point game since Dec. 31, 2019 - recording a second straight multi-point night. Hagelin netted his fifth of the season, and the big boys came out to play on the power play, where Tom Wilson, Nicklas Bcakstrom and Alex Ovechkin found the back of the net.
Newcomer Anthony Mantha scored Washington's other 5-on-5 goal, scoring in his first game with his new team.
Brand New Man(tha) - Little more than 24 hours after a whirlwind day in which he was traded from Detroit to Washington, Mantha pulled on his Caps sweater with the No. 39 on it and took this ice with his new team, skating the left side of a line with Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie. Then he went out onto the ice and made himself at home in his new home.
Mantha assisted on Tom Wilson's first-period power-play goal, displayed his shooting prowess with a second period goal of his own from the slot, and nearly added another goal late in the third when he skirted a Philly defender and skated in alone, only to have his backhand bid denied by Flyers goalie Brian Elliott.
"It felt great," says Mantha of his Caps debut. "I'm obviously excited to be here. The first couple of shifts felt a little stressed, but as it went on I think the game kind of got easier for me. I'm really pumped about my first game."
Mantha became the 49th player in franchise history to score in his first game with the Caps; Nic Dowd (Oct. 3, 2018) was the most recent player to turn the trick prior to Mantha.
Playing with Oshie and Backstrom, Mantha seemed to fit in seamlessly, and he noted his appreciation for his new linemates.
"It was awesome," says Mantha of playing with Backstrom and Oshie. "I mean, I can't ask for much better my first game over here. Hopefully we get a chemistry going over the next couple of games and we catch fire."
"It felt good," says Oshie, of setting up Mantha in his debut. "I was definitely looking for him - and I'm sure Nick was, too - all night, whenever we got into the [offensive[ zone. I wanted to make sure that he got that one out of the way right away.
"He almost created two or three more on his on his own, so maybe he didn't need me to look for him as much but it was great. He's seems like a great kid and we're happy to have him here. It was fun playing with him out there; he won a lot of puck battles and did an outstanding job in our end on his wall on the breakouts. And then his offensive game I think speaks for itself."
The 800 Club - Caps defenseman John Carlson played in his 800th career NHL game on Tuesday night, and he marked the occasion in style by picking up a pair of first-period assists. With those helpers, Carlson reached the 400-assist plateau for his NHL career. He is the 27th defenseman in League history to reach 400 assists in 800 or fewer games and is one of only three active blueliners in the NHL to do so, joining San Jose's Erik Karlsson and Pittsburgh's Kris Letang in that distinction.
Carlson is the eighth player in Washington's franchise history to skate in as many as 800 games with the Capitals, and he follows Calle Johansson as just the second defensemen ever to do so.
With 37 points (10 goals, 27 assists) on the season, Carlson ranks third among NHL defensemen in scoring, just two points behind the Rangers' Adam Fox (39 points).
Stop, Stop, Stop - Samsonov's win against the Flyers is his fourth of the season and of his career against Philadelphia. Those four victories over Philadelphia have all come in a span of 38 days.
Philly's lone goal of the game on Tuesday came in the first period and as a direct result of Samsonov's own turnover. He made 15 of his 29 saves in the third period of Tuesday's game.
"I thought he looked good," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette of the sophomore goaltender. "Obviously the one he [turned over] that one was [tough]. I thought we came out the right way and were playing a pretty good hockey game, and that was tough to see that happen.
"After that, I thought it was quiet for him for a little bit. It seemed like the last half of the third period we got a little sleepy and they got some chances because of it. They probably had 10 shots on net in the last 10 minutes, and probably six of them were scoring chances so he had to make some big saves then just to keep things where they were. But I thought he played a good game."
In 41 career appearances, Samsonov is now 26-9-3 for his career, with a pair of shutouts, a 2.66 GAA and a .908 save pct.
Ovechkin Watch - Ovechkin scored his 22nd goal of the season and the 728th of his NHL career on Tuesday, putting him four goals shy of passing Marcel Dionne (731) for fifth on the League's all-time list.
Tuesday's goal was the 40th of Ovechkin's career against Philadelphia, making the Flyers the sixth franchise against which he has scored 40 or more times. (WPG/ATL: 48, TBL: 48, CAR: 43, TOR: 41 & NYI: 40)
High Powered -The Caps netted three power-play goals for the second consecutive game, doing so for the first time since Dec. 3-5, 2009 when they scored three in a 6-2 home ice win over Florida followed by four in an 8-2 win over the Flyers in Philadelphia two nights later.
Sigh And Explode - Washington has scored 14 goals in its last two games. The last time the Caps netted more than 14 goals in consecutive contests - excluding shootout goals - was Jan. 11-13, 2003 when they won 12-2 over Florida and 4-3 over the New York Islanders in consecutive home games.
By The Numbers -Carlson led the Caps with 21:52 in ice time … Mantha led Washington with six shots on net and seven shot attempts … Garnet Hathaway led the Caps with four hits … Justin Schultz led Washington with three blocked shots … Dowd won 12 of 15 draws (80%) and Backstrom won seven of 11 (64%).