Flyers 2 - 3 Capitals
Final
  for this game

Capitals hand Flyers third straight loss

Feb 2, 2013 - 4:01 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Nicklas Backstrom had a goal and an assist as the Washington Capitals held off the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2, on Friday.

Troy Brouwer and Wojtek Wolski also scored for the Capitals, who snapped a two-game skid. Braden Holtby made 29 saves.

"We did really well in the neutral zone," Wolski said. "I think the last couple of games in the third period we seemed to break down and get away from what we want to be doing in the neutral zone. I think tonight we really stuck together and reminded each other to stay wide. We did that really well, we got a lot of turnovers and pucks going the other way."

Bruno Gervais and Brayden Schenn lit the lamp for the Flyers, who have lost three in a row to fall to 2-6-0 on the season. Ilya Bryzgalov stopped 23-of-26 shots.

Brouwer scored at the 3:57 mark of the third period to give Washington a 2-1 lead. His shot from the bottom of the left circle sailed over Bryzgalov's right shoulder and into the net.

Wolski lit the lamp less than three minutes later to make it a 3-1 contest. Following a faceoff win by the Flyers, Luke Schenn bobbled the puck. Wolski gathered the disc and went in on a breakaway. His backhander beat Bryzgalov.

Philadelphia kept it interesting on Brayden Schenn's goal at the 10:30 mark. Matt Read's shot from the left circle hit off both the post and crossbar. However, the younger of the Schenn brothers was right there to put home the rebound.

The Flyers were unable to score another goal and ended a four-game road trip with a 1-3-0 mark.

"Obviously frustrating for a little bit now - we just weren't good enough (tonight) especially in the third period where it was 1-1," Brayden Schenn said. "You have to learn how to win those hockey games and to give up two (goals), it's obviously not what we were looking for. We did get a late one there but I still don't think we were good as a team tonight."

The highlight of a scoreless first period was John Erskine's hit on Philadelphia's Wayne Simmonds. With less than two minutes left, Erskine sent Simmonds to the ice with an elbow to the face. Simmonds was bleeding from his nose and was forced to leave the contest, but no penalty was called.

Zac Rinaldo stood up for his injured teammate and got into a fight with Matt Hendricks prior to the ensuing faceoff. Both players received a game misconduct for the fight.

Gervais scored the game's first goal at the 11:43 mark of the middle stanza. He poked in a loose puck from in close to record his first goal as a Flyer.

A turnover by Philadelphia's Sean Couturier led to Washington's first goal. Couturier turned the puck over while entering the offensive zone, and Backstrom scored on a breakaway at the other end to make it 1-1 with 2:18 left.

Game Notes

The Flyers, who begin a four-game homestand on Saturday, had won three straight against the Capitals ... Washington started a three-game homestand on Friday ... Philadelphia went 0-for-3 on the power play, while Washington went 0-for-5 ... Simmonds did not return to the game.






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