Capitals at Flyers
The Washington Capitals look to extend their point streak to six games when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. Washington improved to 4-0-1 since the Christmas break by posting its third consecutive victory on Wednesday, a 6-2 triumph at Toronto. Eric Fehr recorded his second two-goal performance in five games and added an assist while Marcus Johansson also scored twice as the Capitals raised their record to 11-1-3 in their last 15 contests.
Philadelphia is hoping to put together a point streak of its own after snapping its five-game slide (0-4-1) by edging Ottawa 2-1 in a shootout on Tuesday for its first win since the holiday break. Wayne Simmonds tied the contest at 8:59 of the third period before scoring the decisive tally in the fifth round of the bonus format. Despite the win, the Flyers scored fewer than three goals for the fourth time in five games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, RSN360, TVA, CSN-DC (Washington), CSN Philadelphia
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (21-11-7): Braden Holtby will make franchise history if he receives any ice time on Thursday. The goaltender appeared in his 22nd consecutive game Wednesday, matching the team record originally set by Wayne Stephenson. Should coach Barry Trotz elect not to start Holtby against Philadelphia, Justin Peters will see action for the first time since Nov. 29.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (15-18-7): Steve Mason, who produced a 41-save performance versus Ottawa, left Wednesday's practice with an undisclosed injury that required an MRI. "Any time you need an MRI, it's cause for concern," the netminder told the team's website. "Cross my fingers that it's nothing too serious." Mason is expected to participate in Thursday morning's skate and a determination on his status will be made shortly thereafter.
OVERTIME
1. Washington captain Alex Ovechkin is riding a four-game goal-scoring streak after reaching the 20-goal plateau Wednesday.
2. Flyers captain Claude Giroux notched an assist Tuesday after missing one game with a cut on his lower left leg.
3. Washington's defensemen collected four assists against Toronto, raising their season total to 88 points after registering 140 last campaign.