Flyers at Capitals
Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals are positioning themselves to repeat as the respective Vezina and Presidents' Trophy winners, although it's the club's dogged pursuit of its first Stanley Cup title that remains the focal point. Holtby carries an astounding 18-0-1 mark in his last 21 starts into Saturday's outing as the Capitals look to extend their franchise-best 14-game home winning streak against the Philadelphia Flyers.
"Nobody realizes it's a streak or anything like that," Holtby said on the heels of recording his league-best eighth shutout in Thursday's 1-0 victory over New Jersey. "It's just that we're confident in our game, trying to take every day for what it is, and see how we can create success." Washington, which is also riding a franchise-best 16-game home point streak (15-0-1), has recorded six of its club-high 10 blankings at Verizon Center during its incredible 14-game run and faces a Philadelphia club that had mustered 13 goals during a nine-game stretch (2-6-1) before winning back-to-back contests. Brayden Schenn extended his point streak to six games (three goals, four assists) by setting up a goal in Thursday's 2-1 shootout win over Florida and had his team's lone tally in a 4-1 setback to Washington on Feb. 22.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN Philadelphia, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), NHL.TV
ABOUT THE FLYERS (30-26-7): Acquired from Tampa Bay at the trade deadline, Valtteri Filppula made quite the impression in his team debut by snapping a 15-game goal drought with a third-period tally versus the Panthers. "You'd like to have a little bit of time to talk and have some practices, but it feels good now when we won, so everything is good," said the 32-year-old Finn, who also won eight of 14 draws and logged over 15 minutes of ice time. Steve Mason is also feeling good by stopping 72 of 73 shots to record back-to-back wins after serving as former Capital Michal Neuvirth's backup for the majority of February. The 28-year-old, who will be in net to open Philadelphia's four-game road trip on Saturday, made 36 saves in a 3-2 shootout victory over Washington on Dec. 21.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (43-13-7): Rookie Jakub Vrana is making the most of his elevated ice time, scoring on Thursday for his second career power-play goal as Washington adjusts to life without Andre Burakovsky (hand) while also dealing with the trade departure of prospect Zach Sanford to St. Louis. "I mean, I feel very comfortable on the ice, you know?" Vrana told the Washington Post. "It's nothing like I feel stress or anything. I feel comfortable with my teammates, and it helps me a lot." Sanford shuffling to the Gateway City paved the way for Washington to acquire offensive-minded defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, who scored a goal in the Blues' 6-3 win over Philadelphia on Dec. 28 and added an assist in a 2-0 victory versus the Flyers on Feb. 6.
OVERTIME
1. Washington RW T.J. Oshie, who had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win over Philadelphia on Feb. 22, is expected to draw back into the lineup after a four-game absence due to an upper-body injury.
2. Flyers RW Jakub Voracek is riding a three-game point streak and has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his last nine outings.
3. Washington has a league-best plus-74 goal differential while Philadelphia is minus-25.