Capitals at Flyers
The Washington Capitals look to prevent matching a season-high losing skid on Wednesday when they conclude a three-game road trip against the Philadelphia Flyers. Washington, which dropped three straight from Nov. 26-Dec. 3, mustered just three goals in setbacks over the weekend on the heels of seeing its NHL second-ranked offense erupt for 30 tallies during a six-game winning streak.
"I thought we actually played probably four decent periods out of the six coming out of the break," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "The two first periods were not good." Captain Alex Ovechkin recorded his 22nd point (nine goals, 13 assists) in 19 games on Sunday when he scored in a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers, but has been limited to just one assist in two meetings this season versus Philadelphia after tormenting the Metropolitan Division foe for 48 points (31 goals, 17 assists) in his previous 41 encounters. Ovechkin's team-leading 27th goal was his 12th power-play tally of the season, putting the three-time Hart Trophy winner behind Philadelphia's Brayden Schenn for top honors in the league. Schenn scored with the man advantage in both Thursday's 6-3 setback at Edmonton and Sunday's 3-2 victory versus Vancouver to raise his total to 14 power-play goals this season.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TVAS
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (39-12-7): Nicklas Backstrom has announced his presence in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with 31 of his team-leading 61 points in his past 21 games, although he saw his eight-game point streak come to an end on Sunday afternoon. The 29-year-old Swedish Olympian notched a pair of his club-leading 44 assists in Washington's 5-0 victory over Philadelphia on Jan. 15, increasing his point total to a gaudy 46 (14 goals, 32 assists) in 36 career encounters versus the Flyers. "He's like the keys to the engine, and everyone works around that," veteran Justin Williams told the Washington Post of Backstrom. Speaking of Williams, he tallied twice against his former team in the most recent meeting, but has been held off the scoresheet and limited to just four shots on goal over his last three games overall.
ABOUT THE FLYERS (28-24-7): Captain Claude Giroux's scoring woes continued in Philadelphia's three-game road trip through Western Canada, as he mustered just one point - an assist - during the trek and has scored and set up a goal with a minus-8 rating in his last 10 contests overall. The 29-year-old could get healthy versus the Capitals, against whom he scored in the Flyers' 3-2 shootout win on Dec. 21 and has posted 32 points (16 goals, 16 assists) in 31 career encounters. Defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere rediscovered his offensive game on Sunday by recording a career-high three assists to match his point total from his previous 14 games.
OVERTIME
1. Washington has allowed two goals or fewer in an NHL-best 37 games this season, posting a 29-2-6 mark in that stretch.
2. Philadelphia G Michal Neuvirth is expected to get the nod against the team that selected him in the second round of the 2006 draft.
3. The Capitals reached out to Hershey of the American Hockey League on Tuesday and recalled F Travis Boyd, who has recorded 11 goals and 32 assists in 53 games this season.