Oct 22, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson (74) clears the puck away from Philadelphia Flyers center Scott Laughton (21) during the second period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
Nic Dowd and Andrew Mangiapane scored shorthanded goals in the first period to lift the Washington Capitals to a 4-1 road victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday in the start of a home-and-home series.
Connor McMichael contributed two assists and Charlie Lindgren made 17 saves for Washington, which won its fourth straight game. The Capitals will host the Flyers at Capital One Arena on Wednesday night for an early-season rematch.
Travis Sanheim scored the only goal for Philadelphia, which has lost five straight since winning its first game of the season. Samuel Ersson made 25 saves in a game they lost.
Dowd opened the scoring at 3:49 minutes into the game. With his team down a man, Dowd lofted the puck past Egor Zamula, who was in Philadelphia’s offensive zone. Dowd then skated up the ice with a half-step on the rushing Flyers and launched a backhander past Ersson.
Washington scored another goal with an outnumbered team with less than five minutes remaining in the first period. McMichael sent a light pass to Mangiapane, who slid solo toward Ersson and wristed a shot inside the left post.
After a scoreless second half, the Flyers managed to score just 34 seconds into the third period. With the teams playing 4-on-4, Sanheim received the puck in the left circle and took a wrist shot that went past Lindgren’s ear, just under the crossbar, for its first point of the season.
The momentum didn’t last long for Philadelphia, however. Just 64 seconds later (in the same 4-on-4), Washington regained a two-goal lead when John Carlson’s pass bounced off Zamula’s skate and into the net.
Jakob Chychrun’s goal with 5:53 left put an exclamation point on the victory.
Lindgren’s highlights included a flashy glove stop on Bobby Brink at point-blank range in front of the net in the first period and a nice foot save on Scott Laughton in the second. However, Philadelphia struggled to generate much offense, managing just three shots in the second period and 18 in the game.
–Field level media
