PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The addition of Carl Hagelin’s speed and playmaking ability a little more than two weeks ago has created the best kind of
problem for the Washington Capitals: On some nights
Sergei Bobrovsky Jersey , it’s hard to tell which line is their top one.Against Philadelphia on Thursday night, it was the third line of Hagelin,
Brett Connolly and Lars Eller that carried the load.Connolly had two goals and
an assist, Eller had a goal and Hagelin added two assists to help the Capitals
beat the Flyers 5-2.The line was put together March 1, three games after
Hagelin’s arrival from Los Angeles. They’ve now combined for 13 points in seven
games and Eller has scored in three of the team’s last four games.“There was
good chemistry early,” Connolly said. “He’s a good player and fits in really
well with our team. It’s a good style for him. We get up the ice and he can
skate.”Evgeny Kuznetsov added a goal and an assist and Tom Wilson also scored as
the Capitals remained two points ahead of the second-place New York Islanders
atop the Metropolitan Division. Braden Holtby stopped 22 shots.James van
Riemsdyk and Scott Laughton scored for Philadelphia, and Carter Hart finished
with 27 saves. The Flyers remained five points out of the second wild card in
the Eastern Conference.Washington scored twice in the first 9 1/2 minutes, never
allowing the home crowd to get behind a Philadelphia team needing a win to help
their playoff push.Connolly opened the scoring less than three minutes in and
set up Eller for the second goal before the midpoint of the period.“We were
emotionally engaged right from the first shift
Womens Seth Jones Jersey ,” Eller said. “We executed and did the right things and got rewarded.”Van Riemsdyk awoke a sleepy Wells Fargo Center a little
over a minute into the second when he beat Holtby with a wrist shot as a
Capitals penalty was expiring for his 21st.However, Connolly restored the
two-goal lead as he won the puck from Flyers defenseman Philippe Myers and, on
an odd-man rush, beat Hart high with a wrist shot for his 19th of the season at
8:43.“I was just kind of weighing my options,” Connolly said. “I knew we had a
2- or 3-on-1. Their defenseman let me take a shot and I took it and put it where
I wanted to.”Just over a minute later, Wilson got his 20th on a wide-open shot
from the slot off a pass from Kuznetsov to make it 4-1, a nearly insurmountable
lead with the way the Capitals have been playing lately. They’ve won eight of
their last nine games.“There aren’t a lot of holes in their lineup, from both an
offensive and defensive standpoint
Sonny Milano Jersey ,” Flyers coach Scott Gordon said. “And the guy in net is pretty good, too.”Laughton pulled the Flyers within two again with 7:38
left in the second.Philadelphia had three power plays in the third, but couldn’t
beat Holtby. The goalie stopped all 10 Flyers shots in the period.“They made us
work for it,” Holtby said.Kuznetsov capped the scoring with his 18th, an
empty-net goal with 2 1/2 minutes remaining.NOTES: The Flyers were 0 for 4 on
the power play and are now 0 for 12 over their last five games. … Philadelphia
played its second consecutive game without top winger Jake Voracek, who was
finishing a two-game suspension for an illegal hit on the New York Islanders’
Johnny Boychuk on Saturday. … Hart was playing in his first game in three weeks
after missing time with a lower-body injury. … Washington has beaten
Philadelphia in all three games the teams have played so far this year. The
season series ends in Washington on March 24.UP NEXTCapitals: At Tampa Bay on
Saturday.Flyers: At Toronto on Friday night. CALGARY, Alberta — The Calgary
Flames hope to get back on track when they kick off a four-game homestand
against the Montreal Canadiens at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Thursday.The
Flames (10-7-1) began November with back-to-back wins on home ice before
dropping two of three games during a road trip to California last week that
ended with a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.“I think we came off the
road trip not feeling great about what we accomplished,” said goaltender Mike
Smith
http://www.officialbluejackets.com/authentic-adidas-zach-werenski-jersey , who played well against the Sharks but still suffered the loss after stopping 26
of 28 shots he faced. “We know we’re a better team than we played, so I think
it’s nice to get back home, get some practice time in and we’re excited about
another home game.”Article continues below ...Smith is also excited to get the
start against the Canadiens (9-6-3) and is hoping to improve his sub-par 5-6-1
record along with his 3.51 goals against average and .877 save percentage.“Last
game, an unfortunate result, but I felt like I was more like myself,” said
Smith, who knows full well that he’s been outplayed by back-up goalie David
Rittich (5-1-0, 1.91 goals against average
Authentic Alexander Radulov Jersey , .935 save percentage) early in the season. “I made some big saves at key times (against San Jose) and tried to keep
the team in there when it mattered the most.“At points in the season, it hasn’t
been there, so I think it was nice to get in a game like that and keep it close
as long as we could there, and have a good couple days of practice and feel good
still. It’s about going into (on Thursday) and just being myself and hopefully
get a big win.”After scoring 11 goals in their first two games in November, the
Flames have found the back of the net just four times in their past three
outings.Calgary coach Bill Peters stressed the importance of getting off to a
fast start against the Canadiens in hopes of getting their scoring touch
back.“That’ll be a key for tomorrow is getting our feet going and getting them
going early and we need it from all four lines,” Peters said.Meanwhile, the
Canadiens will be looking to bounce back after suffering a disappointing 6-2
road loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday.“Right now, we’re not playing our
best hockey and we’re very loose in a lot of areas
Ben Bishop Jersey , so we’ve got to tighten things up a little bit,” said Montreal coach Claude Julien. “One of the other things is our puck
management just hasn’t been that good. Our puck management has been real poor
and because of that, even at times, decision making hasn’t been the best and
we’re getting exposed right now because of two of those major
situations.”Following a dismal outing against the Oilers, center Jonathan Drouin
said that he and his fellow forwards have to do a better job of getting back to
help out in the neutral and defensive zones when they face the Flames.“I think
if our forwards come back a little quicker — more on top of guys — they’ll have
less room to skate in the neutral zone and attack our Ds with full speed,” he
said.
