Capitals 1 - 2 Flyers
Final - 2OT
  for this game

Simmonds nets SO winner as Flyers trip up Caps

Mar 23, 2012 - 3:30 AM Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Wayne Simmonds scored the winner in the fourth round of the shootout, as Philadelphia clipped Washington, 2-1.

Simmonds beat Caps netminder Braden Holtby with a simple, hard wrister to start the round. Ilya Bryzgalov ended the game by stopping Troy Brouwer with the blocker.

Claude Giroux scored in regulation for the Flyers, who have won seven of their last 10 and remained four points behind Pittsburgh for the fourth slot in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins beat Nashville earlier on Thursday.

Bryzgalov ended with 30 saves.

"We are just trying to take it one game at a time and win some games. We will see how it goes," said Bryzgalov when asked if having home ice in the first round is stoking his club's fire down the stretch.

Alex Ovechkin tallied for the Capitals, who have lost three of four but moved alone into eighth in the East, one point better than idle Buffalo.

Holtby finished with 27 stops.

Things didn't look promising for the hosts early on, as Ovechkin scored from the left side only 26 seconds in. The score was made possible thanks to Bryzgalov's errant poke check which found the stick of the Russian star.

Giroux tied the game at 6:05 of the second period. After a Washington shot hit the post, the rebound kicked out to Jaromir Jagr, who fed his linemate for a breakaway through center ice. He waited until Holtby flopped, then flipped the puck into an open net.

"He thought he could get it. He got a piece of it but it just trickled by him," said Capitals head coach of his goaltender's gamble. "It was a play, a cold shot, but he stood tall out there. He really came out and made big saves all night."

Caps forward Marcus Johansson was dragged down from behind and was given a penalty shot with 7:02 remaining in the second, but flubbed the shot at the same time Bryzgalov tripped him on a poke check.

The clubs combined for 19 shots through the third period and overtime but failed to find the net.

Game Notes

Thursday's win marked the first time Philly beat Washington on home ice in the shootout since its 2005 inception...The Flyers took three of four in the season series...Capitals forward Alexander Semin did not play, listed as day- to-day with a lower-body injury...Bryzgalov has given up only 14 goals in 11 March starts, improving to 9-1-1 with a 1.27 goals-against average and .956 save percentage this month...Philadelphia improved to 4-6 in the shootout, while Washington fell to 2-4.






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