Thursday night’s showdown for the Washington Capitals was one of those games that felt like it was going well until it wasn’t. With just under three minutes to go in the third period, an Owen Tippet score tied the game for the Flyers, erased a Capitals one-goal lead, and went on to force a shootout where the Philadelphia Flyers would emerge victorious 4-3.
Connor McMichael, Tom Wilson, and Dylan Strome all found the net for the Capitals, while Capitals Goalie Charlie Lindgren stopped 29 of 32 shots on the net and all six powerplay shots.
The loss in Philadelphia was painful for Washington, who were just a few minutes away from stealing a road win against a big Metro Division rival. But an inability to clear the puck from the
zone allowed the Flyers to hang around and put the tying goal in the net with 2:59 left in regulation.
Head coach Spencer Carbery’s full postgame media availability.#CapsFlyers pic.twitter.com/TpNxO686fG
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 15, 2023
“I thought we had a lot of good things going for us throughout the game. I liked our start, I liked our second period, I thought we put ourselves in a good position heading into the third period,” Spencer Carbery told reporters after the game. “After that, I thought the game fell apart. I thought we didn’t manage the game very well at all; we made some uncharacteristic mistakes. Started to do things we hadn’t done all year playing with the lead, we just got back on our heels.”
Charlie Lindgren was in goal for the Caps and made a few huge saves in the final two minutes to help force the game to overtime, where neither team would score. He would stop one of the
three shots in the shootout effort.
Lindgren told reporters after the game, “I thought we played a really good hockey game; I really liked the way the guys played in front of me; I thought they played hard, I thought they played efficient, effective, and I thought it was a really good effort by our guys.”
Tom Wilson’s wrist shot powerplay goal 15:29 into the 2nd period marked his 10th goal of the year, as he tallied his sixth goal in seven games, while Dylan Strome’s third-period goal was a team-leading 12th goal of the year. What was once a big concern at the start of the season, the Capitals offense has found a groove in recent weeks, scoring 15 goals in the last four games.
“Obviously, it sucks to lose in a shootout,” Strome said. “We’ll take the point, points in four in a row now so hopefully we keep that up and find a way to get two in Nashville.”
At 14-8-4, the Capitals sit with 32 points at fifth in the Metro standings, with a trip to Nashville up next. The puck drops at 8 PM EST on Saturday.