Courtesy: Washington Post
This isn’t a game a whole lot of people outside of Washington D.C. and Philadelphia are probably getting excited for, but the Washington Capitals are set to snap their 2-game losing streak and get back to a game below .500 with a win over the 3-8-0 Philadelphia Flyers.
When these two teams face off, the records are tossed out of the building as the two organizations have a genuine disdain for one another. Not only that, but the proximity of the two cities allows for a lot of fans to travel back and forth between one another to enjoy this intense rivalry that dates back to the 70’s.
Looking at these teams in 2013-14, it seems as if both are off to disappointing starts. Philadelphia’s is one that isn’t as surprising as Washington’s, but I bet they didn’t think Craig Berube would be their current head coach. The Capitals also probably thought they would be at least a few games above .500 at this stage of the season, but they are realizing that the Southeast Division no longer exists and that the entire NHL is a tough, yet competitive hockey league.
The Capitals will have a tough task tonight as their captain Alexander Ovechkin will be out with an upper body injury. Forward Eric Fehr will take his place on the top line and likely on the power play, where Ovechkin has participated in 94% of the team’s total power play minutes this season. That loss will be felt, so it will be interesting to see who steps up on the other lines to fill the roughly 10 shots on goal Ovechkin provides. Washington has only missed the GR8’s services just 21 times (12 due to injury) since he joined the league in 2005-06. In those games, they are 11-8-2.
Philadelphia made an interesting transaction before this game as they traded forward Maxime Talbot to the Colorado Avalanche for forward Steve Downie. Downie will be a free agent at the end of the season, while Talbot has two years remaining on his current deal. This move was somewhat surprising, but given the nature of both teams’ records, it seems like a trade that will benefit both sides. Downie has a goal and six assists in 11 games this season, while Talbot has just one goal and one assist.
It will be a daunting task to try and steal one in the Wells Fargo Center Friday night, but Washington isn’t facing the same ol’ Flyers. This is a game where the Capitals will have to create opportunities from all over the ice as often as possible, given that they don’t have their leader healthy. Look for more conservative guys like Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson to elevate their games tonight as they will have to play with a chip on their shoulder given their playmaker nature. Also, forward Jason Chimera has been hot notching points as of late… expect another aggressive performance in front of the net by him.
