The Capitals are back in action for the second round robin game on Thursday as they take on the Philadelphia Flyers. Tune in to NBC Sports Washington for all the action starting with Caps Pregame Live at 3 p.m. Watch the game and stick with NBC Sports Washington afterward for Caps Postgame Live.
Here's everything you need to know for Caps-Flyers.
Standings update
Here are the current round robin standings:
Tampa Bay 4 points
Philadelphia Flyers 2 points
Capitals 1 point
Boston Bruins 0 points
Tampa Bay and Boston have both played two games. Washington and Philadelphia have played only one.
Everything is still on the table for the Caps. They can win the round robin but they will have to win on Thursday to keep those hopes alive. A regulation loss will mean Washington can finish no higher than third.
Carlson update: Proceed with caution
The Caps are still being cautious with defenseman John Carlson. Though he continues to practice, head coach Todd Reirden said Wednesday that the team would continue to evaluate his situation on a day by day basis so it is unclear if he will play on Thursday. Carlson did not play in Monday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning after getting tangled up in the team's lone exhibition game against the Carolina Hurricanes.
The team continues to take a cautious approach with Carlson and that makes sense. It took about five minutes to realize the round robin games were nowhere close to the same intensity as the qualifying round games as none of the top four teams want to risk any injury in these games. Though there is no definitive answer as of yet on Carlson, it would not be surprising to see him sit out again, especially considering the Caps still managed to earn a point without him against Tampa Bay.
In addition to Carlson's possible absence, the team will also be without center Lars Eller who departed Toronto on Thursday to be with his family for the birth of his second child. Travis Boyd is expected to fill-in on the third line in Eller's place.
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Here's a projected lineup:
Alex Ovechkin - Evgeny Kuznetsov - Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana - Nicklas Backstrom - T.J. Oshie
Carl Hagelin - Travis Boyd - Ilya Kovalchuk
Richard Panik - Nic Dowd - Garnet Hathaway
Brenden Dillon - Dmitry Orlov
Michal Kempny - Radko Gudas
Jonas Siegenthaler - Nick Jensen
Goalie matchup
The Caps will be going with Braden Holtby in net again after he stopped 26 out of 28 shots against the Lightning on Monday. Reirden was very non-committal when asked about Vitek Vanecek and it certainly does not sound as if there is any thought to getting him into Thursday's game.
The Flyers, on the other hand, will turn to goalie Brian Elliott over the young Carter Hart. This a break for Washington after the 21-year-old Hart was fantastic against the Boston Bruins in the team's first round robin matchup with 34 saves on 35 shots. In the regular season, Elliott managed a .903 save percentage and 2.76 GAA.
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When last we met
The Caps and Flyers last played on March 4 in an ugly 5-2 loss for Washington. In fact, if you combine the last two games, the Caps have been outscored 12-4 by Philadelpiha. This has been a tough matchup for the Caps this season as the Flyers are the only of the three round robin teams in which Washington has a losing record against this season (1-3-0).
Flyers are still rolling
When the NHL paused the season, Philadelphia had won nine of its last 10. The Flyers were just one point shy of the Caps in the Metropolitan Division standings and, based on how both teams were trending, it seems likely Philadelphia would have overtaken them for the division. If you expected the Flyers to cool off after nearly five months off, however, they showed in their first round robin game that is not going to be the case.
The Flyers rolled to a 4-1 win over the Bruins, the top team in the conference, and now take aim at the top seed in the conference. Clearly this team is not going to fade away with its win streak now well in the past. In just his first year behind the bench in Philadelphia, Alain Vigneault is getting the most out of his team and has already turned them into a contender in the East.
"I think the coaching change did a lot for them, but at the same time, all their young players developed, they got better and they are so good defensively too so I think that is what the coach brought in," Nicklas Backstrom said. "I think it is the combination of everything."
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MORE CAPITALS NEWS:
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- Spotted: Carlson on phone during game
Capitals prepare for a Flyers team out to show the NHL they are more than just a hot streak originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
