POSTGAME 5: Flyers Take Care of Business in DC, 2-1

A stellar opening 40 minutes and a hair-raising third period were just enough for the Philadelphia Flyers to skate off with a 2-1 road win over the Washington Capitals.

Through 10 games, the Flyers have a 6-2-2 record.
After a scoreless first period, Derick Brassard (2nd goal of the season) and Sean Couturier (5th) opened a 2-0 lead for the Flyers in the middle frame. Brett Leason (2nd) got a goal back early in the third period but the Caps never found an equalizer. Alex Ovechkin was held off the scoresheet on this night.
Martin Jones was outstanding in goal for the Flyers. He was the biggest reason why the Flyers withstood a furious charge by the Capitals in the third period. Jones improved to 3-0-0 on the season
Vitek Vanecek made a few big saves as well, especially stops on Travis Konecny with the score 0-0 and then on a 2-on-1 that quickly followed the Leason goal in the third period.
The Flyers were 0-for-1 on the power play. The Caps were held off the board on three power plays.
TURNING POINT
Getting a goal from the Brassard line -- which broke a scoreless deadlock -- was huge for the Flyers. So, too, was the goaltending of Jones when he was under siege during Washington's third period power play.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1) The Flyers played a solid road period in the opening 20 minutes. The Flyers were up on their skates, played a straight-forward north-south game, checked tightly and had good puck support for the most part. Both teams had one power play chance apiece. An Alex Ovechkin backcheck broke up a brewing Cam Atkinson shorthanded scoring chance. Travis Konecny had a good scoring chance after a scramble developed deep in the Washington zone but he was unable to score on a backhanded wraparound try.
2) Overall, the Flyers had a 12-6 shot on goal edge in the first period (25-15 shot attempt edge). Rasmus Ristolainen was credited with three hits. Faceoffs were essentially even (10-9 Caps).
3) The Flyers carried over a similar approach to the 2nd period that carried them to being the better team in the first. They pressured the puck constantly, forechecked well, activated the defensive with opportunity and support, won races and 50-50 battles. When there were miscues or Washington made a play, Jones stepped up to erase the scoring chances.
By the buzzer, the Flyers had a 2-0 lead on the scoreboard. Second period shots were 14-11 in the Flyers' favor. Through two periods, Ristolainen had four credited hits and three shots on goal.
4) The Derick Brassard line with Joel Farabee and Cam Atkinson had struggled mightily since the end of the season-opening homestand. In the second period of this game, though, they had a very important momentum-creating shift and later broke the scoreless deadlock. At 11:18, after the Capitals failed to clear the defensive zone, Atkinson won a battle behind the net. Atkinson then entered the puck out to an open Brassard, who scored from near the left hash marks. The secondary assist went to Justin Braun.

The Capitals made a push after the Brassard goal. Jones made two saves on Carl Hagelin on a short-ice breakaway after a Flyers turnover. Jones then came up with stops on Connor McMichael and Ovechkin.
The Flyers weathered the storm and went back to the attack. At 15:44, the lead grew to 2-0. Ristolainen pinched in the offensive zone, took a pass from Claude Giroux and fired a turnaround shot with Sean Couturier lurking near the net. Using quick hands, Couturier knocked home the rebound. Ristolainen's primary assist was his 200 NHL helper and first as a Flyer. Giroux got the secondary assist (7th apple in 10 games this season).

5) The Capitals made another push to start the third period, forechecking very aggressively. Philly withstood it for a while -- not allowing any shots on net -- before Washington narrowed the gap to 2-1 at 6:02. Leason scored from a severe angle on a puck that took a strange bounce and into the net. McMichael and Carlson got the assists. Two shifts later, Travis Konecny was unable to bury a 2-on-1 chance.
The rest of the game, especially a Capitals power play, was a nail-biter for the Flyers. Jones made vital saves and both Ristolainen and Provorov made much-needed clears to relieve pressure without taking icings. During a 6-on-5 for the Caps in the final minute after a Provorov icing, the Flyers won the draw and cleared the puck. Jones stopped 14 of 15 shots in the third period to close out the win. The Flyers had six shots.
The Flyers' top four defensemen did yeoman work: Provorov logged 26:39 of ice time. Braun played 24:16. Ristolainen played 22:48 and partner Sanheim played 21:49.