The Philadelphia Flyers staged a strong third-period comeback but ultimately fell short in a 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Thursday night. Despite closing the gap from a 3-0 deficit, the Flyers couldn’t complete the comeback. Washington finished the season series with a 4-0 sweep, while Philadelphia suffered their eighth regulation loss in their last nine games (1-8-0).
The Capitals opened the scoring at 14:25 of the first period when Alex Ovechkin netted his 35th goal of the season, assisted by Aliaksei Protas and Trever Van Riemsdyk. Washington extended their lead in the second period, with Brandon Duhaime scoring off a deflection at 1:56 and Mangiapane adding a third goal at 11:06 after a Flyers’ rush turned into a quick counterattack.
Philadelphia showed resilience in the third period, starting with an unassisted goal by Ryan Poehling at 5:10, aided by an accidental own goal from Washington’s Jakob Chychrun. The Flyers kept up the pressure, and after a coach’s challenge, Sean Couturier’s goal was awarded following a disallowed Capitals goal due to goalie interference.
Despite pulling their goaltender for an extra attacker in the final minutes, the Flyers couldn’t find the equalizer. Washington’s goalie, Charlie Lindgren, stopped 27 of 29 shots, while Samuel Ersson made 13 saves on 16 shots for the Flyers.
The Flyers’ special teams struggled, going 0-for-2 on the power play, and their scoring depth continued to be a challenge. However, they fought hard and created multiple opportunities in the final period, including a couple of breakaways and a near-miss on a 2-on-0 chance. The Capitals’ defense and timely saves were key to their victory.
