Capitals at Flyers
Rookie Carter Hart will attempt to provide a spark to the Philadelphia Flyers' flickering postseason aspirations on Thursday when he returns to the crease against the visiting Washington Capitals. The 20-year-old Hart has been sidelined since Feb. 21, when he sustained an ankle injury in the morning skate before attempting to play through the pain in an ill-fated start versus Montreal.
"I'm just excited to get back into a game. I know it's been a little while," said Hart, who put a temporary halt to Philadelphia's eight-man goaltender carousel by posting a 13-8-1 mark in 22 contests. Brian Elliott, who will start Friday's tilt at Toronto, sustained his lone regulation loss in his last seven outings (5-1-1) by yielding four goals on 19 shots before receiving an early hook in a 5-3 setback to Washington on Feb. 6. While the Flyers are riding high on an 18-4-2 run to move within five points of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, the first-place Capitals saw their seven-game win streak snapped with Tuesday's 5-3 loss to Pittsburgh to reside two points ahead of the New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division. Captain Alex Ovechkin (NHL-leading 46 goals) notched an assist to reach the 1,200-point plateau, with a staggering 57 (34 goals, 23 assists) being recorded in 51 games versus Philadelphia.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCS Washington, NBCS Philadelphia
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (41-22-7): Jakub Vrana, who scored twice versus the Penguins, collected two goals and an assist in Washington's 5-3 win against Philadelphia on Jan. 8 before setting up Nicklas Backstrom's second-period tally in the more recent encounter. The 31-year-old Backstrom also had an assist in that meeting that ignited his current four-game point streak, during which he has three goals and three assists. Defenseman John Carlson, who has scored one goal and set up three others during his four-game point streak, has notched three of his club-best 50 assists this season versus the Flyers.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (34-27-8): The NHL on Wednesday upheld the two-game suspension assessed to forward Jakub Voracek for interference against Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk during the third period of Saturday's contentious game. The 29-year-old Voracek, who has 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) in his last 22 games, sat out Monday's 3-2 win over Ottawa and is eligible to return to face the Maple Leafs on Friday. Voracek missed the previous contest against the Capitals due to injury, but fellow forward Sean Couturier (team-best 28 goals) has notched a pair of assists in both meetings with Washington this season.
OVERTIME
1. Washington G Braden Holtby improved to 10-4-8 in his career against Philadelphia after turning aside 27 shots in last week's contest.
2. Flyers captain Claude Giroux, who leads the team with 53 assists and 73 points, has 31 and 40, respectively, at home this season.
3. Philadelphia C Travis Konecny has dented the scoresheet in six of his last seven games, with the exception coming against Washington.