Just about the only team the Flyers can’t beat on the road these days is the Washington Capitals.
Way back on Feb. 25, the Flyers dropped a 3-1 decision at Capital One Arena, then went on a team record-tying eight-game road winning streak.
How did the run end? Of course, on Tuesday night in Washington, D.C.
The Flyers had their chances, coming back from a 2-0 deficit for a 2-2 tie early in the second period but things began to go downhill from there in a 6-4 defeat.
That loss cast a bit of a shadow over the play of highly touted Porter Martone, who made his NHL debut after signing a three-year entry-level contract on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Caps’ attack was led by two goals from Alex Ovechkin, giving him a total of 54 goals in 82 career games vs. Philadelphia. Tom Wilson also chipped in with two goals in his 900th NHL game.
Philadelphia committed some poor judgment plays leading to penalties. The Caps scored twice on the power play.
The Caps came out playing a physical game, led by Wilson’s aggressive style, before the Flyers began to counter.
“We had a lot of good looks,” Travis Sanheim said in a televised interview after the game. “Just couldn’t outscore them. Giving up two on the power play hurt us as well. Sometimes you have to take a hit to make a play. As it progressed, I think we handled it much better than we did early on.”
One bright spot was the play of Martone. He played more than 16 minutes, had five shots on net and a couple legitimate scoring chances.
He took a delay of game penalty early on and that might have been a bit of nerves. He seemed to settle down after that.
“I took a couple shifts to get my feet wet,” he said. “You know you’re adjusting to the NHL level.”
Martone was clearly getting in toward the net in the third period.
“I thought I had some good chances early, too,” he said. “I thought I got better as the game went on. It’s a tough loss but I think we can improve. It was pretty special. When you’re a kid and dream of this, you never think it will come true. It was a dream come true.”
Several teams ahead of the Flyers in the standings failed to win, so it wasn’t a complete lost night.
“They (the Caps) tried to come out the first 10 (minutes) and tried to bully us,” coach Rick Tocchet said. “I thought after that we started to get our game. It’s good for some guys to understand you have to be ready to go.
“I thought as the game went on he (Martone) really started to go. I told him to relax early on. He’s going to score. He’s had a whirlwind week. I liked his game.”
With the Flyers down 2-0, a goal by Sanheim just 39 seconds into the second period was initially waved off by officials, stating goaltender interference on the Flyers’ Christian Dvorak. But the Flyers challenged and won it when replays showed Dvorak was guided into goalie Logan Thompson by a Caps defender.
Then the Flyers tied it at 4:36. Trevor Zegras took control in the corner, wheeled around and found Carl Grundstrom open in front for a shot past goalie Logan Thompson.
The deadlock didn’t last long. Caps defenseman Jakob Chychrun connected for his 24th of the season on the power play. Chychrun leads all NHL defensemen in scoring.
Washington’s power play struck (for a second time) at 17:37 on a goal from Ryan Leonard and the Flyers were once again in a two-goal hole.
In the third period, the Flyers got a goal from Dvorak to cut the deficit to one. But Ovechkin countered shortly after. Still, the Flyers wouldn’t give up and got a goal from Denver Barkey at 7:52 to cut the deficit to one again.
The Flyers had scored first in five straight games but that streak came to an end when Washington registered two goals in the first period.
The Capitals got the pair from two of their stars, Wilson and Ovechkin.
Wilson took advantage of a mismatch when Owen Tippett was caught up ice. Wilson’s long shot from the top of the slot beat Dan Vladar at 14:59.
Then Ovechkin made some history at 18:35. He was left open on the right side and put the puck in the net for his 30th goal of the season. That’s the 20th time in his career he’s achieved that plateau.
>Short shots
For the second time in less than a week, the Flyers will play the Detroit Red Wings, this time on Thursday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena. Philadelphia took a 5-3 decision in Detroit last Saturday night. . .Garnet Hathaway’s 1,333 hits since the 2021-22 season lead the NHL. . .To make room for Martone, the Flyers scratched Alex Bump. . .Defenseman Emil Andrae played in his 100th NHL game. . .Ovechkin has 928 regular-season goals in his career.
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