Flyers at Capitals
THE STORY: The Verizon Center faithful derisively serenaded the home team with a chorus of boos after its last effort – and for good reason. The Washington Capitals saw their three-game winning streak come to an emphatic end on Friday with a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of the New Jersey Devils. The Capitals will look to give the home fans a better show on Sunday when they host the Philadelphia Flyers.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCS
ABOUT THE FLYERS (35-21-7): Coach Peter Laviolette's charges have been hit or miss lately. At times, Philadelphia demonstrates why it is the highest scoring team in the league before inexplicably looking inept on offense in its next contest. The Flyers looked like the former example in their last outing as rookie Matt Read tallied twice and All-Star Scott Hartnell netted his career-high 31st goal in Thursday's 6-3 win over the New York Islanders.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (32-27-5): Washington's special teams play has been particularly horrific as of late. The Capitals have converted just 2 of 34 power-play opportunities while yielding four shorthanded goals in the process. "Our power play is killing us. Absolutely killing us,” D Dennis Wideman told the Washington Post. “We’re making wrong reads, we’re not backing each other up when there’s a bouncing puck. We’re giving up breakaways and goals every game and we’re not scoring or even creating a chance. Our power play is absolutely killing us.”
OVERTIME:
1. Philadelphia has yielded the first goal in its last nine consecutive contests.
2. Capitals G Michal Neuvirth permitted five goals on 20 shots versus New Jersey. That lackluster effort may open the door for Tomas Vokoun, who hasn't started a contest since Feb. 22. Vokoun has split a pair of meetings with the Flyers this season.
3. The Flyers are once again showing confidence in G Ilya Bryzgalov, who has started seven straight games. The Russian looked sharp in his last outing versus the Capitals, turning aside 31 of 32 shots in a 5-1 win on Dec. 13.