Holtby makes 30 saves, Capitals defeat Flyers in shootout

PHILADELPHIA -- Braden Holtby made 30 saves for the Washington Capitals in a 2-1 shootout win against the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday.

Brendan Leipsic scored for the Capitals (14-2-4), who extended their point streak to 13 games (11-0-2) and improved to 9-1-1 on the road.
Washington's T.J. Oshie and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored in the shootout.
"We haven't been in a 1-0 game going in to the third period this year," Capitals coach Todd Reirden said. "They were able to convert on the power play, credit to them for making a good play on that. Then I thought the second half of the third period we really carried the play. That's a strong mark of our team, we kept pushing. They made some good saves, we had some really good chances. We were able to get the extra point in the shootout."
WATCH: [All Capitals vs. Flyers highlights]
Claude Giroux tied the game in the third period and scored in the tiebreaker for Philadelphia (10-5-3), which had its winning streak end at four but extended its point streak to seven games (5-0-2). Carter Hart made 35 saves.
It was the third straight game the Flyers went to the shootout and fourth straight they played past regulation.
"I thought we had a tough first period," Philadelphia forward Jakub Voracek said. "I think we were light on pucks. ... I thought we got better since the second period came on. It was an open game, and I'm glad we got one point out of it."
Leipsic put the Capitals ahead 1-0 at 6:13 of the first period when he scored on the rebound of John Carlson's shot from the point.

Carlson, who extended his point streak to four games (one goal, six assists), has 30 points (eight goals, 22 assists) in 20 games. It's the eighth time in NHL history a defenseman has needed 20 games or fewer to reach 30 points, first since Al MacInnis for the Calgary Flames in 1990-91.
The Capitals outshot the Flyers 16-5 in the first period, but Hart kept Philadelphia in the game.
"He played a great game obviously," Giroux said. "Trying to play better in front of him. That's a good hockey team on the other side, but I think in the second and third we played the way we wanted to."
Giroux tied it 1-1 at 6:38 with a power-play goal set up by Voracek cutting through the Washington zone.

Capitals forward Lars Eller said they liked their response to the goal and felt confident with how Holtby was playing.
"Every time your goalie only lets in one, you should get at least a point out of that," Eller said. "Gives us a very good chance to win, and that's all we can ask of him. He certainly did his part tonight."

They said it

"Trying to get around the crease a little bit more, that's where a lot of goals are scored nowadays. Just trying to make it a bit of emphasis. Good to contribute tonight." -- Capitals forward Brendan Leipsic, who has scored two goals in six games after being held without one the first 14 games
"We know we didn't play good in the first; they came at us pretty hard. We didn't panic, we didn't start yelling at each other. We know we can play better, so I think in the second and third, it was better efforts." -- Flyers captain Claude Giroux

Need to know

The longest point streak in Capitals history is 15 games (14-0-1 from Jan. 13-Feb. 10, 2010). ... Washington defenseman Dmitry Orlov played one shift in overtime that lasted 3:09. Forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin were out with him for 3:08. ... It was Holtby's 266th win, all with the Capitals, tying Felix Potvin for 50th in NHL history. ... Washington has won five straight games against Philadelphia. ... Flyers rookie defenseman Philippe Myers had his goal streak end at three games. No rookie NHL defenseman has scored in four straight games since Brian Benning of the St. Louis Blues in 1986-87. ... Philadelphia's point streak is its longest since it went 9-0-1 from Jan. 14-Feb. 9, 2019.

What's next

Capitals: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Friday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, TSN2, RDS, NHL.TV)
Flyers: At the Ottawa Senators on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, NBCSP+, NHL.TV)