Game #48
Caps (29-12-6, 64 points) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (23-20-3, 49 points)
The last time these two teams met the Flyers were reeling. They had just fired coach John Stevens and were playing their first game under new coach Peter Laviolette. The end result was an 8-2 pasting at Wachovia Center by the Caps, who received two goals each from Mike Green and Tomas Fleischmann. There was also a big dust-up between Matt Bradley and Flyers pest Dan Carcillo, who drew a 9-minute penalty for a sucker punch. That was in response to a clean hit from Bradley. A repeat offender, Carcillo was ejected for the punch on Bradley and drew a four-game suspension. The ensuing power play was for a crosscheck, an instigator, a fighting major and a 10-minute misconduct. Washington scored three times to put the game out of reach early. Terrible decision by Carcillo.
Ray Emery started that night in goal for Philadelphia and gave up five goals on 17 shots before getting the hook. Soon after he went on injured reserve with an abdominal tear. He’s been on the active roster since Jan. 12 and is expected to start this afternoon. The Flyers are a different team than the one Emery left. Expected to be a playoff contender, Philadelphia bottomed out at 15-18-2 after a 4-1 loss to Florida on Dec. 21. Since then the Flyers are 8-2-1 overall and just a win away from climbing back into a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said in his pregame chat with reporters that the Flyers are not a team anyone wants to see in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
