Flyers 5, Capitals 1
Scott Hartnell scored in his career-high sixth consecutive game and Ilya Bryzgalov turned aside 31 shots as the Philadelphia Flyers breezed past the host Washington Capitals 5-1 on Tuesday for their sixth straight victory.
While Hartnell netted his 200th career goal, rookie defenseman Marc-Andre Bourdon secured his first NHL tally to highlight a three-goal second period. Wayne Simmonds scored for the third straight contest and Max Talbot and Jakub Voracek also had goals for Atlantic Division-leading Philadelphia, which improved to 11-3-1 on the road this season.
With NHL points leader Claude Giroux sidelined indefinitely with a concussion, the rest of the Flyers stepped up in his absence. After skating around rookie Cody Eakin in the neutral zone, Hartnell wristed a seemingly harmless shot from the edge of the left faceoff circle which sailed between the pads of Tomas Vokoun with 3:44 remaining in the first period.
Bourdon doubled the advantage by wristing a shot from just inside the blue line which beat a screened Vokoun at 7:23 of the second period. Defenseman Matt Carle capped his three-assist night by setting up Voracek 5:26 into the third period.
Bryzgalov showed no effects of an injured groin, which caused him to leave Saturday's 5-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 31-year-old Russian has won six in a row and is 11-1-1 in his last 13 contests.
Bryzgalov's bid for his 25th career shutout was ended by Jeff Halpern with 6:01 remaining in the third period as the Capitals lost for the sixth time in nine games.