PHILADELPHIA – They talked again about getting off to a fast start. It just is not happening for the Capitals.
A quick goal by the opposition proved costly once more against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center. Jeff Carter scored just 91 seconds into the game and Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia overcame a third-period rally by the Caps thanks to defenseman Andrej Meszaros’ overtime goal in a 3-2 victory over Washington.
The Caps fell to 25-14-8 and now have 58 standings points. The Flyers are still the best team in the Eastern Conference with a 30-11-5 record and 65 points.
Washington talked about getting off to a fast start the previous two days. Over the previous 21 games it had trailed at the end of the first period nine times. Make it 10 after Matt Hendricks over-skated a puck in the neutral zone. That let Carter pick it up with speed. He drove at goalie Michal Neuvirth, but instead of shooting tried a wrap-around attempt instead. Neuvirth was off balance and couldn’t get back to his right post in time as Carter stuffed home the goal for a 1-0 lead just 91 seconds into it. Washington has now held the lead after the first period just six times in its last 22 games. Why does this keep happening?
| Caps notes |
| » Defenseman Tom Poti (day-to-day, lower-body injury) and forward Eric Fehr (upper-body injury, three-to-four weeks) were the scratches for Washington. |
| » Before Tuesday’s game, forward Andrew Gordon was returned to AHL Hershey. He remained in Philadelphia, however, and watched from the press box. |
| » Washington placed defenseman Tyler Sloan on injured reserved. He had been on a conditioning stint at AHL Hershey, but was injured in a game there over the weekend. |
“That’s the question,” said Caps forward Alex Ovechkin, who along with Mike Knuble scored 40 seconds apart midway through the third period to tie the game at 2-2. “Next game [Thursday at the New York Islanders] is going to be huge game for us, I think. We have to be ready right away. I hope we want to be there and I know we’re going to be ready.”
The Flyers added to their 1-0 lead at 13:38 of the second period. A nifty pass from the near boards by Carter landed on the stick of Claude Giroux. He was stopped by Caps goalie Semyon Varlamov with the left pad, but slammed home his own rebound with Marcus Johansson and Scott Hannan failing to pick up the puck or Giroux. Varlamov had replaced Neuvirth after the first period. Neuvirth was seen earlier in the day icing his left hip and groin area in front of his locker stall following the morning skate. He was officially listed with a lower-body injury by the team.
