5 THINGS: WSH vs. PHI

Philadelphia Flyers (34-27-8, 76pts) vs. Washington Capitals (41-22-7, 89pts)
at Wells Fargo Center | Philadelphia, PA
TIME:7:00 p.m. | TV: NBCSP | RADIO: 97.5 The Fanatic
presented by The Rothmans Institute at Jefferson Hospital
QUICK STATS
Season Series: 0-2-0
All-Time Record: 217gp (114-76-19-8)
Leading Scorers:
PHI: 73-pts, Giroux (20g-53a)
WSH: 78-pts, Ovechkin (46g-32a)
METRO & WILD CARD RACE
M1 - WSH: 89 pts - 12 games remaining
M2 - NYI: 87 pts - 13 games remaining
M3 - PIT: 85 pts - 12 games remaining
WC1 - CAR: 83 pts - 13 games remaining
WC2 - CBJ: 81 pts - 12 games remaining
- - - - - - -
MTL: 81 pts - 12 games remaining
PHI: 76 pts - 13 games remaining

1. ALL ABOUT REVENGE
The Flyers meet the Capitals for the second time in a week's span in a game where the Caps took a 5-3 win and scored the first five goals... The Caps have won both meetings this year, both by a score of 5-3 - in fact the Caps have won three of the last four meetings against the Flyers, all by a 5-3 decision... The Caps have scored nine of their 10 goals in the first two periods of the series, while the Flyers have scored four of their six goals in the third period ... Sean Couturier leads the Flyers with four points (all assists), while Jakub Vrana leads the Caps with four points (2g-2a).
2. THE SCHEDULE & SITUATION
The Flyers are coming off of two straight wins and have earned points in seven of their last eight, going 6-1-1, and have scored at least three goals in each of the eight games, averaging 4.13 goals in that span... Tonight's game kicks off their 12th back-to-back set as they travel to Toronto for Friday night... Tonight also begins a stretch in which they play seven games in an 11-day span with six of the seven games against teams in playoff position or tied for a playoff spot.
3. CAP SIZING
The Caps enter tonight with a two-point lead atop of the Metropolitan Division and are coming off their first loss after an eight-game winning streak (5-3 to Pittsburgh on Tuesday)... They have not dropped two games in-a-row in the last seven weeks (Jan. 22-23) and since returning from their NHL bye/All-Star week, the Caps have posted a 14-5-1 record... The Caps are one of seven teams in the NHL, and one of three in the Metro Division, to have at least 20 road wins.
4. WE'RE GOING STREAKING
Sean Couturier has points in five straight games (3g-3a) - he leads the Flyers in scoring since Nov. 1 with 61 points in 55 games... Scott Laughton also has points in five straight games (3g-2a), including goals in three of his last four... Caps d-man John Carlson has points in four straight (1g-3a) - he ranks third among all NHL d-men in assists (50) and fourth in points (61)... Nicklas Backstrom also has a four-game streak with six points (3g-3a)... The Flyers have allowed the first goal in each of their last three games, while the Caps have scored the first goal in each of their last four games... The Caps power-play has recorded a goal in six of their last eight games, going 6-for-23 (26.1%), while the Flyers have gone perfect on the penalty kill in five of their last six games, going 13-for-14 (92.8%).
5. PLAYERS TO WATCH:
FLYERS (D: #6 - Travis Sanheim)
He leads the Flyers defense in goals (9) and tied in points (31)... Sanheim hasn't gone two straight games without a point in over a month (Feb. 4-7) and since Jan. 31, Sanheim is T-5th among all NHL d-men in overall points (15) and T-4th with five goals... In his first 27 games through Dec. 8, Sanheim was averaging 16:01 of ice time, compared to his last 42 games, since Dec. 8, he is now averaging nearly five minutes more at 20:53.
CAPITALS (C: #19 - Nicklas Backstrom)
Backstrom has points in four straight games (3g-3a) and in seven of his last eight games with 11 points (5g-6a) in that stretch... At 49 assists, he is one helper shy of becoming the only player in the NHL to record at least 50 assists the last six straight seasons... In his only game against the Flyers this season, he posted a goal and an assist, and he averages nearly a point and a half per-game at the Wells Fargo Center with 33 points (11g-22a) in 22 games.