Flyers Defeat Capitals in Round-Robin Game

The Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Washington Capitals in their round-robin game on Aug. 6 with a score of 3-1. Philadelphia are currently in second place of the four Eastern Conference round-robin teams with four points (2-0-0 record). Here’s a recap of the Flyers-Capitals round-robin game.

1st Period

This was virtually all about the Flyers and their offense. They kept on moving to different spots in the Capitals’ zone and forced turnovers to get scoring opportunities. One Capitals turnover led to a highlight reel play from Flyers forwards Kevin Hayes, Travis Konecny and Scott Laughton. Laughton finished off the play with the game’s first goal. The only time the Capitals had momentum on their side was on their last two power plays of the period. But, they couldn’t score on both of them.

Philadelphia went into the second period with a 1-0 lead.

2nd Period

Again, the Flyers were the more dominant offensive team so far in this game though the Capitals had a better start early in the period. The Flyers also made another highlight reel this time from Hayes and forward Travis Sanheim during a 4-on-4 play. Sanheim scored on a gorgeous backhand-forehand move to lift the puck over Capitals’ goaltender Braden Holtby’s blocker. But, the Capitals made a late push towards the end of the period with forward Jakub Vrana having the best scoring chance.

Philadelphia went into the third period with a 2-0 lead.

3rd Period

This period was really still up for grabs even though the Flyers had a two goal lead. It was a back and forth period with both teams scoring 12 seconds apart. First, it was Laughton who scored his second goal at the 11:23 mark of the period and extended the Flyers’ lead to two. Then, Capitals forward Travis Boyd scored the only Capitals goal this game at the 11:11 mark of the period. From there, the Flyers took over the last five minutes of the game and finished the period outshooting the Capitals 8-4.

Philadelphia won the game 3-1.

Keep in mind that Philadelphia beat both the Capitals and the Boston Bruins. The Capitals won the Stanley Cup in 2018 and the Bruins were just in the Stanley Cup Finals against the St. Louis Blues last year. It would be a shocker if this team doesn’t make any noise during this year’s playoffs.

Three Stars of the Game

Third Star: Brian Elliot (16 saves)

Second Star: Scott Laughton (2 goals, 1 assist)

First Star: Kevin Hayes (3 assists)

Philadelphia will play against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Aug. 8 for the top seed in the Eastern Conference and the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The game starts at 8 pm EST on NBC.