5 THINGS: Capitals vs. Flyers

QUICK STATS
Season Series: 1-1-0
All-Time Record: 209gp (111-72-19-7)
Leading Scorers:
PHI: 49pts, Voracek (15g-34a)
WSH: 61pts, Backstrom (17g-44a)
Power Play: (PHI: 43-for-202, 21.3%, T-8th) (WSH: 38-for-174, 21.8%, 5th)
Penalty Kill: (PHI: 144-of-177, 81.3%, 16th) (WSH: 167-for-198, 84.3%, T-6th)
1. EASTERN INFLUENCE
The Flyers return home after going 1-2-0 on their Western Canada trip and are looking to make it two straight wins after ending the trip with a 3-2 win at Vancouver… The Flyers schedule now has a majority of their focus back on the East… Of the 23 games remaining, 20 are against Eastern Conference opponents, while 15 of them are against the Metropolitan Division, including eight of their last nine of the regular season… The Flyers own a 16-15-3 mark against the East and a 6-8-1 against the Metro.
2. CAPITAL GAINS
The Caps lead the NHL in overall points (85) and are tied for the most wins (39)… Over their last 10 games, the Caps are tied for the second hottest team in the NHL at 7-2-1, but coming into tonight's game have lost two straight… Only one time this season (Nov. 27-Dec. 3) have they lost three straight in any fashion… The Caps are second in the NHL in goals per-game (3.34) and lead the NHL in fewest goals-allowed per-game (2.09)… They also lead the NHL in largest goal differential (+73) and have scored four or more goals 27 times.

3. PP & PK
Both teams rank in the NHL's Top 10 on the power-play… The Flyers are tied for eighth at 21.3%, and have scored a power-play goal in each of their last two games, going 3-for-6, while the Caps are fifth at 21.8% and have scored on the man advantage in four of their last five games, going 5-for-14… Washington is tied for fifth on the PK at 84.3% and have not allowed more than two power play opportunities in the last four games… The Flyers are 16th at 81.3% and have not allowed a goal on the PK in six of their eight games in February, going 15-for-17 and went perfect on the Western Canada road trip (7-for-7).
4. SPLITSVILLE
This is the third meeting of the year against the Capitals and last one on home ice with the season series wrapping up in DC on Mar. 4… The team's split the season series thus far with each team winning on home ice and the Caps winning the most recent meeting, 5-0 at Washington on Jan. 15… Through the two games, the Caps have had 13 different players record at least a point in the series with Andre Burakovsky leading with three points (2g-1a)… Michael Raffl and Claude Giroux are the only Flyers to have scored in the season series thus far for Philly.
5. PLAYERS TO WATCH:
FLYERS (RW: #17 - Wayne Simmonds)
Simmonds comes into tonight as the hottest Flyer with goals in his last two games and four goals in his last five contests… Simmonds has also seen a big increase in ice time, averaging nearly two full minutes of TOI per-game this season (19:12) from his previous career high set last year (17:14)… He leads the team with 25 goals and is tied for second in overall points (42).
CAPITALS (C: #19 - Nicklas Backstrom)
The Caps leading scorer went scoreless in his last game, which snapped an eight-game point streak where he recorded 14 points (4g-10a) in that stretch… He has earned 31 points in his last 21 games (8g-23a) and has tallied a point in 18 of those 21 games… He is currently second in the NHL in assists (44) while sitting fifth in overall points (61)… Backstrom averages over a point per-game against the Flyers in his career with 46 points (14g-32a) in 36 games.
TODAY AT 50
On February 22, 2015… Michael Del Zotto's game-winning goal at 15:47 of the third period highlights a 3-2 home win over the Washington Capitals… Earlier, Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds build a 2-0 lead, while winning goalie Rob Zepp turns back 21 of 23 shots.