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Capitals-Flyers Preview

Dec 5, 2009 - 1:56 AM By JUSTIN EINHORN STATS Senior Editor

Washington (17-5-6) at Philadelphia (13-11-1), 7:00 p.m. EDT

When Peter Laviolette gets behind the bench to make his Philadelphia Flyers debut Saturday night, he can take comfort in the fact that he won't have to find a way to stop Alex Ovechkin.

Laviolette leads the stumbling Flyers against the Washington Capitals, who go for a fifth straight victory and try to continue their success without the reigning two-time Hart Trophy winner as he finishes a two-game suspension.

After losing three straight and six of seven, Philadelphia made the NHL's first coaching change of the season Friday when they fired John Stevens.

Stevens got the job early in the 2006 season after Ken Hitchcock was fired and led the Flyers to the Eastern Conference finals the following season. However, Philadelphia (13-11-1) hasn't scored in its last two games, and captain Mike Richards called a team meeting after a 3-0 loss to Vancouver on Thursday.

Laviolette led Carolina to its only Stanley Cup in 2006. He was fired last December after going 167-130-30 in four-plus seasons with the Hurricanes, and also guided the New York Islanders for two seasons.

"Peter Laviolette brings experience along with a different approach to the game," Philadelphia general manager Paul Holmgren said.

Philadelphia hasn't scored in 160 minutes, 4 seconds, since Braydon Coburn's first-period goal in a 4-2 loss to Buffalo on Nov. 27.

"Right now we're struggling to score goals," said defenseman Chris Pronger, pointless in six straight games. "From that, we start looking for - whether it be easy ways or different ways than you normally do scoring goals. It's going to take three guys around the net bouncing it off somebody's shin pad. It's going to take a dirty goal for us to turn this around."

This is the first time since February 2003 that the Flyers have failed to score in back-to-back games, but they've never suffered three straight shutouts.

Philadelphia, 0 for 14 on the power play in the last three games, hasn't lost four in a row since opening last season 0-3-3.

"We have to execute, play well, and win hockey games," Pronger said. "Right now, we're not doing any of the three."

Washington (17-5-6), meanwhile, is tied with Pittsburgh for the best record in the East partly because it has been about as good without Ovechkin as it is with him. The Capitals are 5-2-0 when he hasn't played.

"I think it shows we've got some depth," said center Brendan Morrison, who has three goals and six assists in the seven games Ovechkin has missed.

Three of those points came Thursday in a 6-2 win over Florida as Ovechkin began serving his suspension for a knee-to-knee hit on Carolina's Tim Gleason on Monday.

Ovechkin hurt his knee on that play but was not seriously injured, so it appears likely he will return Monday against Tampa Bay.

He wasn't missed Thursday, as Washington set season highs with 44 shots and three power-play goals while matching its second-highest scoring output.

Alexander Semin had two goals and two assists in his return after missing seven games with a right wrist injury.

"We just go out and play as a team, that's the key word," Semin said through a translator. "Of course, it's bad that (Ovechkin) didn't play tonight, but what can you do?"

Semin had a career-high 79 points in 2008-09 and has 21 through 19 games this season, including the tiebreaking goal and two assists in a 4-2 home win over the Flyers on Oct. 27. Ovechkin scored twice in both meetings this season - the other being a 6-5 overtime loss at Philadelphia on Oct. 6.

Washington is 9-4-1 against the Flyers since the start of the 2006-07 season, going 5-1-1 in Philadelphia.