Capitals ‘still in the fight,’ gain ground in Metropolitan with win against Flyers 

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals’ season was teetering on a precipice, as they left the ice trailing the Philadelphia Flyers by two goals after the first period Friday.

Facing a rival they probably need to catch for their best chance to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs and staring down the possibility of a loss leading to a sell-off prior to the 2024 Trade Deadline on March 8, the Capitals needed a spark. But unlike Thursday, when coach Spencer Carbery stopped practice briefly to try to light a fire under the players with some choice words about their energy and execution, there were no angry speeches.

There was no panic either.

“I don't think it was any messages,” Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin said. “I think everybody understands that in the year, what kind of situation we have. Everybody was calm. We just changed our mind in the second period, I think.”

The Capitals changed their minds, and the momentum, storming back with five unanswered goals over the final two periods for a 5-2 victory. With the win, Washington (28-22-9) improved to 5-1-1 in its past seven games and climbed within four points (with two fewer games played) of Philadelphia (31-23-7) for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

The Capitals also moved within five points (with three fewer games played) of the Tampa Bay Lightning (32-24-6) for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.

“We talked yesterday about where we are at and the significance and importance of this game against a team that we’re trying to catch, with [us] running out of runway here,” Carbery said “So, we knew this was, I don’t want to say or do or die, but it’s as close as you can get to it.”

So, Carbery wondered after a sloppy first period if this was it for the Capitals. Two more periods like it would’ve given general manager Brian MacLellan a big push toward being a seller before the deadline and trading away potential unrestricted free agents such as forwards Anthony Mantha and Max Pacioretty and defenseman Joel Edmundson, and perhaps other players under contract beyond this season, in exchange for pieces for the future.

But the Capitals responded to the urgency of the moment with a dominant second period, fueled by goals from Ovechkin, Sonny Milano and John Carlson, that gave them a 3-2 lead heading into the third.

“I give our guys a ton of credit because after that first period, you’re going, ‘Are we going to go quietly into the night, and this is going to be the way that we sort of [go out]?’” Carbery said. “But we kept fighting, and we’re still in the fight.”

Ovechkin started the comeback with his goal off a left circle face-off win by rookie center Hendrix Lapierre 4:34 into the second period. Elevated to the top line to play with Ovechkin and Tom Wilson, Lapierre pulled the draw against veteran center Sean Couturier to Wilson on his right. Wilson quickly slid the puck back to Ovechkin, who ripped a wrist shot past goalie Samuel Ersson’s glove for his 17th goal of the season.

“It was such a big goal,” Washington goalie Charlie Lindgren said. “That, obviously, got us going, got a lot of momentum off that. That's a big-time player scoring a big-time goal and that's why he's our leader.”

Milano tied it 2-2 by lifting a centering feed from Pacioretty over Ersson at 9:55 of the second. Carlson’s wraparound goal off the rebound of Lapierre’s deflection at 17:45 made it 3-2.

“I think all four lines changed their mind and their speed in the second period,” Ovechkin said. “I think we started playing more physical. I think we didn't turn over the puck in the neutral zone, don't give them freedom, and that's about it.”

The Capitals kept pushing in the third with Dylan Strome setting up Mantha for a power-play goal from the inside of the right circle that made it 4-2 at 6:04. Strome made it 5-2 from the right circle at 15:38, moments after Lindgren fully extended his left pad to stop Couturier’s backhand bid to cut the Flyers’ deficit to one goal.

“We just had a lot of great plays, and I feel like after that first period, obviously, no one was satisfied,” said Lapierre, who has five points (three goals, two assists) in three games since being called up from Hershey of the American Hockey League on Feb. 23. “But it's a veteran group. It's guys that have been there before, so they know how to react, and I thought we did a really good job in the second and third, played a mature game and good things happened for us.”

Plenty of work remains in the Capitals’ final 23 games, with their next coming at home against the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday (1 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MNMT, NHLN, SN1), if they’re going to overcome the odds and qualify for the playoffs. But by getting off the mat against the Flyers, they kept their hopes alive and, perhaps, gave MacLellan a reason to pause for a few more days before deciding what moves he’ll make -- or won’t make -- before the deadline.

“We love playing for the Capitals organization and, obviously, we knew where they [the Flyers] were at in the standings and how big of a game it was,” Lindgren said. “We didn't want to put too much pressure on ourselves, but at the same time, it did feel like kind of a must-win game. But it shows a lot of character again. … It’s a big-time character win. Just feels amazing and, obviously, got to park it.

“We're still trying to climb up the standings here, and we got a big game on Sunday as well.”