Holtby makes 41 saves, Capitals defeat Flyers

WASHINGTON -- The Philadelphia Flyers threw everything but the kitchen sink at Braden Holtby in the first period, but he didn't budge.
The Washington Capitals used 41 saves from Holtby, a fluke goal and their suddenly rejuvenated power play to defeat the Flyers 4-1 at Verizon Center on Saturday in Game 2 of the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round series.

The Flyers had 19 shots on goal in the first period, equaling their total from Game 1, a 2-0 Capitals win, but Holtby kept them all out of his net.
"He's unbelievable," Washington forward Marcus Johansson said. "He's making saves all over the place, and sometimes you're just shocked when he gets to stop the puck. He's so good. He's such an unbelievable goalie for us, and he wins games every week and he's done it all year. He was a huge part in this one."

John Carlson, Jason Chimera, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom scored for the Capitals, who have a 2-0 series lead heading into Game 3 at Wells Fargo Center on Monday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports, CSN-DC, CSN-PH).
"They came out hot out of the gates," Washington forward T. J. Oshie said. "We had a pretty good full 60 (minutes) there. I think our special teams were really good tonight; they had some big plays, a lot of guys sacrificing the body on the penalty kill. [Holtby], as always, played a really good game. We found a way to win, so hopefully we can take this momentum into Philly."
Chimera scored from center ice at 2:26 of the second period for a 2-0 Capitals lead. With his back to the Flyers net, he tipped an outlet pass from Karl Alzner into the Philadelphia zone that trickled through goalie Steve Mason's legs.
"It put the team in a tough position after that," said Mason, who made 19 saves. "It's a deflating goal and we've got to find ways to bounce back, and I think for the most part it didn't really hinder us. Guys kept pressing forward."

It was the sixth game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in Chimera's career, tying him with Peter Bondra for most in Washington history.
The Capitals were 2-for-2 on the power play. They were 1-for-6 in Game 1 after going 0-for-12 in their final five regular-season games.
Backstrom and Johansson each had two assists.
Jakub Voracek scored for Philadelphia.
"I think today we carried the majority of the play here," Mason said. "We just have to go home now and hold serve now. We don't want to lose at home. If you don't lose at home, you're still in the series and we believe that there's a long ways to go."
Carlson made it 1-0 with a power-play goal at 14:09 of the first period. For the second consecutive game, he scored through traffic with a slap shot from the point.

Voracek scored his first goal of the series at 9:37 of the second period to make it 2-1. With the teams playing at 4-on-4, Brayden Schenn worked his way to the slot and tipped the puck to Voracek, who beat Holtby under his right pad.
"If you score one goal in two games, you don't win many games," Voracek said. "Holtby was good; I'll give him credit for that. We've got to dig in and get some bounces at home."
Ovechkin scored Washington's second power-play goal at 17:21 of the second to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead. Backstrom sent a pass through Oshie's legs to Ovechkin in the left circle, and Ovechkin beat Mason on his glove side with a slap shot.
Ovechkin has 37 goals and 71 points in 74 career NHL playoff games.
Backstrom scored with 2:13 remaining to make it 4-1.