Postgame RAV4: Vladar Shines in 3-1 Loss to Capitals

The Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Washington Capitals, 3-1, at Capital One Arena in DC on Wednesday evening. A strong goaltending performance went to waste in the first game out of the Olympic break.

The first period was scoreless. In the middle stages of the second period, Rasmus Sandin (3rd goal of the season) gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead.

In the opening half-minute of the third period, Noah Cates (11th) tied the game at 1-1. With less than six minutes to play, Trevor van Riemsdyk (2nd) made it a 2-1 game in Washington's favor. Aliaksei Protas (SHG, ENG, 20th) tacked on an insurance goal.

In a losing cause, Dan Vladar denied 26 of 28 shots. Logan Thompson earned the victory with 23 saves on 24 shots.

FIRST PERIOD SYNOPSIS

Thompson made an acrobatic save on a deflected Nick Seeler shot tipped by Denver Barkey in the opening 100 seconds of the game. Several shifts later, Hendrix Lapierre landed a dangerous hit on Noah Cates.

At 6:07, Thompson snapped up a Carl Grundstrom shot for a stoppage. Shots on goal were 4-1 Flyers at this point.

Trevor Zegras made an excellent backchecking play to break up a scoring chance. At 8:30, Pierre-Luc Dubois missed the net on a partial breakaway.

The Flyers went to the game's first power play at 9:43. Alex Ovechkin went off for hooking Cates. Philly was unable to capitalize.

At 14:29. Vladar denied Ovechkin from point blank range. The Flyers were caught out on a long shift. 

Philly lost a potential 2-on-1. Matvei Michkov slowed down and his backhand pass attempt was snuffed out.

Shots: Flyers 9 - Capitals 7
Faceoffs: Flyers 7 - Capitals 4

SECOND PERIOD SYNOPSIS

The Flyers  got caught on a long defensive shift but Seeler blocked a shot out of play at 3:10. Philly was able to get a line change. On the next shift, Thompson gloved down a Grundstrom shot for the left dot.

As play neared the six-minute mark, Vladar stopped a blast from Ryan Leonard and then another stop in a scramble at the net.

Trevor Zegras had a good scoring chance from the bottom of the right circle. As play passed the midway point of regulation, the Flyers benefited from a quick whistle on an uncovered puck near their net.

The Capitals had extended pressure after a Flyers turnover. Sandin scored at 13:52. The assists went to Lapierre and Jakob Chychrun.

Shots: Flyers 9 (18 overall) - Capitals 11 (18 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 6 (13 overall) - Capitals 8 (12 overall)

THIRD PERIOD SYNOPSIS

The Flyers sent two forwards-- Cates to the front of the net -- after a Washington turnover. Breaking an 18-game goal drought, Cates deflected home a Travis Sanheim shot at the 0:29 mark. The other assist went to Bobby Brink.

On the next shift, Vladar came up with an outstanding save on Ethen Frank.

Washington went to its first power play at 3:46 as York was called for holding Dubois behind the net. With 21 seconds left on the penalty, Vladar made a flourishing glove save on a Chychrun shot that initially looked ticked for the top portion of the net.

At 7:50, Vladar had to come out big again; this time on Lapierre. At the other end, Rasmus Ristolainen made a slick move with the puck and nearly backhanded home his second goal of the season (just the Flyers' second shot on goal of the period).

At 14:08, the Capitals restored the lead on a backdoor goal by Van Riemsdyk. Vladar had almost no chance of stopping it. The assists went to Declan Chisholm and Protas.

The Flyers pulled Vladar for an extra attacker with time ticking down to 2:40 remaining. Zegras missed the net on an open look. Ryan Leonard iced the puck at 18:33. Drysdale blocked three empty net attempts.

With 48.4 seconds left, Brandon Duhaime took a delay of game penalty. The Flyers called timeout before they back a 6-on-4 attack. The Flyers lost the all-important offensive zone faceoffs. At 19:34, Protas scored an empty-net shorthanded goal.

Shots: Flyers 6 (24 overall) - Capitals 11 (29 overall)
Faceoffs: Flyers 9 (22 overall) - Capitals 10 (22 overall)

FLYERS STARTING LINEUP

Trevor Zegras — Christian Dvorak — Travis Konecny
Matvei Michkov — Noah Cates — Bobby Brink
Denver Barkey — Sean Couturier — Owen Tippett
Nikita Grebenkin — Carl Grundstrom — Garnet Hathaway

Travis Sanheim — Rasmus Ristolainen
Cam York — Jamie Drydale
Nick Seeler —  Noah Juulsen

Dan Vladar
[Samuel Ersson]

Postgame RAV4 (RAV4 Things Revisited)

1. Post-Olympics reset

The Flyers exited the Olympic break with good energy in the first period. The frame was scoreless, but Philly had more dangerous attack opportunities. As the game moved along, however, Washington generated the better of the overall play.

2. Returning Olympians

Flyers Olympians Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen worked together as a defensive pair. and played 22-plus minutes apiece. They were on the ice for both the first and second Washington goals as well as the lone Philly goal. Between the two, Ristolainen played the better game. He was good in all three zones.

3. Between the Pipes

Vladar deserved a better fate on this night. He made a host of big saves to give the Flyers every chance to win. The goalie needed better support.

4. Special teams

The Flyers went 0-for-2 on the power play. They were 1-for-1 on the penalty kill.