Fresh Faces Help Caps Win in Philly

Playing the first of three straight road exhibition games on Wednesday night in Philadelphia, the Caps got contributions from a trio of offseason acquisitions and came away with a 3-1 win over the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center.

Dylan Strome scored twice, Connor Brown had a goal and an assist, and netminder Charlie Lindgren stopped all 13 shots he faced in 40 minutes of work to lead the way to victory. Blueliner Bobby Nardella also played a key role, sparking the Caps to a 2-0 lead early in the second period with a pair of primary assists.
"It was good," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "I thought at 5-on-5 we were good defensively. We were smart with the puck; we made good decisions. I thought the game turned around for us when we got our legs on the forecheck, and we got a little bit physical and just started really getting after it, and trying to turn things over from the top of the circles - top of the dots down - in the offensive zone. I thought we started to create a little bit more."
Lindgren's debut in a Caps sweater was a strong one. He needed to make only seven saves in the first period, but three of them were of the stellar variety. He denied Scott Laughton from in tight around the six-minute mark of the first, and then turned in a pair of dazzling stops in shot succession late in the period, thwarting Olle Lycksell and Wade Allison seconds apart with about five and a half minutes remaining.
"It felt good," says Lindgren. "That's exactly how I would want my first game to go, just getting the feel of the puck again and seeing game action. I didn't think my job was too hard, and I thought our guys did an awesome job, obviously, and it's a great way to build a little bit of confidence."
Washington didn't get many pucks to the net until late in the first. Only two of the Caps' first 13 shot tries found their way to Philly netminder Felix Sandstrom; seven were blocked and another four missed the mark. The Caps put three shots on Sandstrom late in the frame, and they took over in the middle period.
Early in the second, the Caps got on the board when Nardella made a good read and an assertive play in neutral ice, recognizing a weak clearing effort from the Flyers and jumping up to send Brown right back into Philadelphia ice. Brown skated into the slot and beat Sandstrom for a 1-0 lead at 4:23 of the period.
Less than two minutes later, the Caps went to the power play for the second time when Henrik Borgstrom drew a holding call on Philly's Egor Zamula. After Marcus Johansson won a puck battle behind the Philly cage, he sent it out front. From up top at center point, Nardella put it on a tee for Strome, whose one-timer from the right dot beat Sandstrom, doubling the Washington advantage to 2-0 at 7:42.
The Caps were strong in their own end as well in the second, holding the Flyers without a shot on net for a span of 10 minutes and 58 seconds. That shotless stretch ended late in the middle period when the Flyers pumped four shots on Lindgren during the first Philadelphia power play of the evening.
Both teams made goaltending switches at the outset of the third, Zach Fucale taking over the crease for the Caps and Samuel Ersson doing the same for the Flyers.
Philly broke the shutout spell early in the third. A Wade Allison hit forced a turnover on the half wall in Washington territory, setting up a short-ice 2-on-1 for Owen Tippett and Kevin Hayes. Tippett waited for just the right moment to feed Hayes, whose blast from the right circle made it 2-1 at 3:44 of the third.
Late in the third, Strome netted his second of the night to conclude the scoring. After forcing a turnover near the red line, Strome tore off with Brown on a 2-on-0 for half the length of the ice. The two made a quick exchange as they approached the net, and Strome buried the return feed to account for the 3-1 final score at 16:20.
"I thought we had some good looks and some good chances," says Strome. "It was nice to capitalize on a few. And out there on the power play for the first minute, it was nice to get some chances and to be able to put a couple in."
The Caps will practice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Thursday before embarking on a weekend road trip. They'll play the Red Wings in Detroit on Friday and will face the Blue Jackets in Columbus on Saturday.