Atkinson, Giroux Help Flyers Top Capitals To Snap Skid
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Cam Atkinson had a goal and an assist and Claude Giroux also scored to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
Carter Hart made 27 saves for the Flyers, who snapped a six-game losing streak and won for just the third time in 22 games.
T.J. Oshie scored for the Capitals, who lost their second straight.
Giroux tied Hall of Famer Eric Lindros for eighth place on the Flyers' all-time scoring list with the 290th goal of his career just 11 seconds into the game to put Philadelphia up early. Atkinson outraced Martin Fehervary to the puck in the Philadelphia zone, then fed Giroux for a wrist shot from the slot that beat Ilya Samsonov on the blocker side for his 17th of the season.
The goal was tied for the third-fastest in a regular-season game in club history, equaling Bobby Clarke's 11-second tally to open a contest on Jan. 27, 1983. Tim Kerr holds the Flyers record, scoring in eight seconds on March 7, 1989.
Philadelphia increased its advantage to 2-0 with 1:22 left in the period when Atkinson netted his team-leading 18th of the season with a stellar individual effort from the side of the net to corral Scott Laughton's pass with his skates, find his stick and then shoot off Samsonov and high into the net.
Oshie pulled the Capitals within a goal with 13:07 left in the second on a power play. Oshie drew an interference penalty from Isaac Ratcliffe and then quickly made the Flyers pay on the man-advantage, scoring on a one-timer from the slot for his sixth of the season and first since Jan. 10.
Both goalies made fantastic saves in the period. Samsonov robbed Travis Konecny with 14:05 left with a sensational glove save, and Hart denied Joe Snively's backhander try from close range with 10:51 to play.
Washington continued to apply pressure in Philadelphia's zone but couldn't come up with the equalizer. Hart preserved the victory with a sprawling pad save on Evgeny Kuznetsov's try in the final minute after Washington pulled Samsonov for a 6-on-5 situation.
The first period featured a fight between heavyweights Zack MacEwen and Washington's Tom Wilson. MacEwen took exception to a hard hit on him by Wilson, and they fought to a draw, with MacEwen picking up a roughing minor in addition to the fighting major. The game remained physical from that point.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Capitals: D Justin Schultz didn't play. Schultz sat out the Feb. 17 meeting between the teams with an upper-body injury but played in the Capitals' next game, Thursday's 4-1 loss at the Rangers. Coach Peter Laviolette said Schultz sat out Friday's practice for a maintenance day.
Flyers: Hart returned to the lineup after missing the last two with an eye infection. … C Derick Brassard (hip) played for just the fourth time since Nov. 23. In each of the previous three outings, Brassard had a prolonged absence after appearing in one game. … Joel Farabee (upper body) also was back on the ice after sitting for the previous 11 games. He notched a secondary assist on Giroux's goal.
GIVING BACK
The Flyers donated $400,000 to the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation to build a street hockey rink at Scanlon Recreation Center in the Kensington section of Philadelphia.
UP NEXT
Capitals: Start a three-game homestand against Toronto on Monday.
Flyers: Host Edmonton on Tuesday in the fourth contest of a club-record eight-game homestand.
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