The Washington Capitals face the Philadelphia Flyers with both teams heading in opposite directions to start the season. The Capitals have a 23-14-6 record and with seven wins in their last 10 games have leaped to the top of the Metropolitan Division. The Flyers have a 16 18 7 record which is the second-worst in the Metropolitan Division. Both teams look to improve within the division and the Eastern Conference and the upcoming game should be a good one as a result.
The Capitals are having a great season with their offense stepping up and scoring 3.26 goals per game including 22 goals in the last five games. Alexander Ovechkin has scored 29 goals and 19 assists while Dylan Strome and Evgeny Kuznetsov have added 14 goals and 53 assists to the top two lines but the rest of the offense has been great as well. Conor Sheary, Anthony Mantha, and Marcus Johansson have combined for 30 goals and 41 assists while defensemen Erik Gustafsson and Nick Jensen have added eight goals and 35 assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has been great but the defense has also stepped up, allowing only 2.70 goals per game with only five goals in the last three games. Gustafsson and Jensen have combined for 4.8 defensive point shares and 124 blocked shots while Trevor van Riemsdyk, Dmitry Orlov, and Martin Fehervary have combined for 5.9 defensive point shares to add depth to the unit. In addition, goaltender Darcy Kuemper has been great with a .920 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against average on 766 shots.