"It's a cool feeling to never be out of a game, but it's also one you don't want to play. It's kind of like playing with fire; you want to make sure that you're playing the right way throughout the whole game, and as the year goes on, it gets harder and harder to come back. Teams get better at closing out games, and you don't want to make it a habit."
Despite the Caps' torrid stretch of nearly a month in duration, they haven't put a lot of distance between themselves and the teams immediately behind them in the Metropolitan Division standings, including the Flyers. Along with the Pacific Division, the Metro is one of two of the league's four divisions to boast five teams with 21 or more points going into Tuesday night's busy slate of NHL activity.
Washington has played more games (19) than any other club in the division, so the other seven Metro occupants all have a game or more in hand on the Caps. The New York Islanders have been as hot as Washington, and if the Isles were to win their three games in hand on Washington, they would actually move into first place in the Metro, one point ahead of the Capitals.
The Flyers enter Wednesday's game with a four-game winning streak, and an impressive 7-2-1 mark in their last 10 games. Philadelphia has also been strong on the Wells Fargo Center surface, winning six of eight home games (6-1-1) and collecting points in seven of eight. Three of the Flyers' 10 wins this season have come in the shootout; they lead the league in shootout victories.
Philly started the season in Prague with a win over Chicago, and it won its home opener over New Jersey upon returning. A four-game losing streak (0-3-1) followed, but the Flyers have righted the ship since. Philadelphia is 8-2-1 in its last 11 games, and it has a six-game point streak (5-0-1) in which five of the six games have required more than 60 minutes to determine a winner. All three of its shootout wins, an overtime win and a shootout loss have come in those last six contests.