The Washington Capitals did not have their A-game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night.
“What did we have? 11 shots in the first 40 minutes in the game?” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery asked the media in exasperation. (They indeed had 11.)
Down 3-2 at the second intermission, the Capitals came back onto the ice in the third period and scored two unanswered goals, earning their Eastern Conference-leading 36th victory of the year and notching their league-leading 18th comeback win. They also gave Charlie Lindgren his 50th victory as a Capital.
“Tonight was a weird one,” Lindgren said. “Just felt like we were fighting it a little bit, maybe. They did a good job clogging the neutral zone. Felt like it was hard for us to get some O-zone time tonight. We’re down 3-2 in the second intermission, and it’s the same story the whole year, where we come in, and we’re all looking at each other like we’re going to find a way to get this done. Sure enough, that’s what we did.”
Lars Eller scored six minutes and 23 seconds into the third period, sniping a shot off the post and in past Flyers goaltender Ivan Fedotov.
The tally was The Tiger’s tenth goal of the season, giving the Capitals a league-high 10 players with double-digit goals this season. The third line, consisting of Eller, Ethen Frank, and Taylor Raddysh, was the team’s best on the night, posting team-highs at five-on-five in goal differential (plus-2; 2-0), expected goals (67.1 percent), shot attempts (9), and high-danger chances (3).
“I thought Lars’ line was the difference tonight for us,” Carbery said. “They changed the momentum in the game. They score the goal (in the third period), but they had some really, really positive shifts that got our guys, gave us momentum as a team, but also got guys up and positive, started to hear some hooting and hollering on the bench and happy for them. Then they start to play a little bit better and get on their toes.”
Jakob Chychrun would score the game-winner with 7:55 remaining after receiving an electric cross-ice pass from John Carlson that eluded two Flyers defenders. Chychrun, wearing Sonny Milano’s gloves, let a shot rip to the top corner.
“When it goes east to west like that, you always know you have some sort of side open,” Chychrun said.
The goal marked Chychrun’s 14th goal of the season and his single-season best, fourth game-winning goal of the 2024-25 campaign.
“It’s just a great pass by Carly,” Chychrun, an unrestricted free agent at year’s end, said. “Yeah, kinda tried to make eye contact with him, had my stick up in the air, letting him know I was open. He had to thread it and he sure did, so great play by him.”
Per Capitals PR, Chychrun’s 14 goals are the most ever by a defenseman in his first season with the Capitals, passing Larry Murphy (13g in 1983-84). He also ranks tied for third among NHL defensemen in goals, behind Colorado’s Cale Makar (19g) and Columbus’ Zach Werenski (17g).
“Obviously, the John Carlson pass to Chychrun to set up that, that was a massive play in the hockey game,” Carbery said. “Those are some big-time plays to create some things when we weren’t doing a lot.”
The goal for Chychrun was also more special because it came against his dad’s former team. Jeff Chychrun, a fellow defenseman, was drafted by the Flyers in the second round of the 1984 NHL Draft and played his first five seasons in the NHL with the organization. Jeff registered a career-high 248 penalty minutes in Philadelphia during the 1989-90 season.
“Yeah, there was a Flyers’ Chychrun jersey during warmups, so the boys were all over me,” Chychrun said. “It’s nice to see. I know he loved his time here. It’s always nice playing here and thinking of my pops back in the day. This is a new building, but he really loved being Broad Street Bullies.”
Carlson’s game-winning assist was the 553rd of his career, 26th most all-time among NHL defensemen, and his 708th point in 1,063 games. Sunday, before the Capitals’ game against the Utah Hockey Club, the team will celebrate Carlson’s 700th career point with a pregame ceremony at Capital One Arena.
As of Friday morning, the Capitals will go into their final game before the 4 Nations Face-Off break with a 10-point lead over the next closest team in the Eastern Conference standings.
“We just find a way again,” Chychrun said. “Those are big moments for this club.”
