GAME NOTES
SEASON SERIES
ROUND ROBIN RACE
1. TBL: 2-0-0 | 4pts (.657) (games left: PHI)
2. PHI: 1-0-0 | 2pts (.645) (games left: WSH & TBL)
3. WSH: 0-0-1 | 1pt (.652) (games left: PHI & BOS)
4. BOS: 0-2-0 | 0pts (.714) (games left: WSH)
* Regular season standings acts as the ONLY tie-breaker
1. ROUND AND ROUND WE GO...
With a win of any kind, the Flyers will tie the Lightning for the top seed in the East and set up a winner-take-all game against Tampa on Saturday for the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference... A win in regulation secures at least the second-seed in the East, while gaining at least one point today will guarantee the Flyers improve their standing one spot and finish no worse than the third seed.
2. BUBBLE LIFE
Since entering the bubble, each team has played twice and each team has played past regulation once... The Flyers won both games and have seen all 10 of the goals in their games scored at even strength with the Flyers outscoring opponents, 7-3... The Caps beat the Hurricanes, who just swept the NY Rangers in Qualifying play, 3-2 in exhibition and lost in a shootout to the Tampa Bay Lightning in their first round robin game... Evgeny Kuznetsov is the only Capital to score in both games, while Scott Laughton is the lone Flyer to have scored in both thus far.
3. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
The Flyers earned a point in each game of the four-game season series, going 3-0-1... They also earned wins in their last three meetings against the Caps and outscored them by a 12-4 margin in the last two meetings... The Flyers scored 13 of their 16 goals in the series in the 2nd and 3rd period, while the Caps scored 5 of their 7 goals in the first period... Brian Elliott gets the start in net for his first postseason action - he won both games against the Caps this season (2.00 GAA & .926 sv pct) while Braden Holtby will be in net for Washington - he started all four games in the season series posting a 4.15 GAA and .857 save percentage.
4. SMART GOALS
Today sees two of the top three teams in the NHL in third-period goal scoring - the Capitals led the league with 95 goals scored in the 3rd, while the Flyers ranked third with 87 third-period goals... The Caps also tied for the NHL lead for the most wins when trailing after the second period (9), while the Flyers ranked fifth in the NHL for the fewest amount of goals-allowed in the final frame (61).
5. PLAYERS TO WATCH
FLYERS (RW: #28 - Claude Giroux)
The Flyers captain led all players in the season series with five points (2g-3a) in four games, including four points (1g-3a) in the last two outings... Since playing the Caps on Feb. 8, Giroux led the team in scoring before the pause with 18 points (8g-10a) in 15 games... Giroux also has the most goals (22) against the Capitals than any other team in his career.
CAPITALS (RW: #8 - Alex Ovechkin)
The Capitals captain was the co-leader with 48 goals in the league this season... However, he was held scoreless in a season series against the Flyers for the first time in his 15-year NHL career... Despite that, he still averages over a point per-game against the Flyers with 59 points (34g-25a) in 57 regular season games, as well as 14 points (7g-7a) with three game-winning goals in 13 playoff games.
