Skip to content
Flyers
Link copied to clipboard
Link copied to clipboard

Michael Raffl won’t face the Flyers, but Alex Ovechkin will in Tuesday’s game vs. the Capitals

For the Flyers. coming off a devastating home loss to lowly Buffalo and four points out of a playoff spot, the schedule gets tougher.

Flyers left winger Joel Farabee battled for position against Washington Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin (8) in a March 11 game. Ovechkin leads the Caps with 21 goals, while Farabee tops the Flyers with 15.
Flyers left winger Joel Farabee battled for position against Washington Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin (8) in a March 11 game. Ovechkin leads the Caps with 21 goals, while Farabee tops the Flyers with 15.Read moreYONG KIM / Staff Photographer

After holding Washington’s Alex Ovechkin scoreless last season, this year has been a different story for the Flyers.

The teams will meet Tuesday in D.C.

» READ MORE: Chuck Fletcher stood by Alain Vigneault and put the Flyers’ players on notice. Good. | Mike Sielski

Ovechkin leads the Capitals with seven points and five goals in four games against the Flyers this season. Overall, he has 21 goals, tied for fifth in the NHL. With 727 career goals, Ovechkin is five goals shy of passing Marcel Dionne (731) for the fifth-most goals in NHL history.

Right winger Anthony Mantha, acquired Monday in a blockbuster deal with Detroit, will be available to play Tuesday, according to Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan.

MacLellan said left winger Michael Raffl, acquired from the Flyers Tuesday for a fifth-round pick in this summer’s draft, may not be available until later in the week. Raffl has been battling an injury.

» READ MORE: The Flyers fiddled while East Division contenders burned up the trade deadline | On the Fly

With Raffl traded, the Flyers are expected to have rookie Tanner Laczynski in the lineup Tuesday. The former Ohio State star, a sixth-round selection in 2016, has no goals in three NHL games but has played well on the fourth line.

Washington begins the night tied with the New York Islanders atop the East Division; the Flyers are four points behind Boston for the fourth and final playoff spot, and the Bruins have two games in hand.

On Tuesday, Boston hosts the Sabres, the lowly team that scored three late goals and shocked the Flyers, 5-3, on Sunday.

In four meetings against the Flyers this season, Washington has averaged 4.25 goals per game, its highest scoring rate against any opponent this season, and the second-most goals per game a team has against Philly (New York Rangers: 4.39).

The Flyers scored a 7-4 victory in Washington on Feb. 7 as Scott Laughton collected his first NHL hat trick, but the Caps have won the last three meetings, all at the Wells Fargo Center: 3-1 as the Flyers had some home fans for the first time this season on March 7; 5-3 as the Caps chased Carter Hart on March 11; and 5-4 as Washington chased Brian Elliott.

Washington has gotten good performances from defensemen Justin Schultz (22 points in 38 games, plus-14) and Zdeno Chara (nine points, plus-10), two players the Flyers bypassed in the free-agent market. They instead signed Erik Gustafsson, who was dealt Monday to Montreal for a seventh-round pick.

Goalie matchup

Brian Elliott (11-5-1), who has a 2.87 GAA and an .894 save percentage, will try to help the Flyers rebound from the crushing loss to Buffalo. He has not fared well in two games vs. the Caps this season, compiling a 5.13 GAA and a .774 save percentage.

Elliott will be opposed by second-year goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who is 9-3-1 with a 2.97 GAA and an .894 save percentage. Samsonov is 3-0 against the Flyers this season with a 2.67 GAA and a .922 save percentage.