Flyers (28-24-7) vs. Capitals (39-12-7)
8 p.m. on NBCSN, CSNPhilly.com and the NBC Sports App
After finding some offense to finish up a 1-2-0 road trip, the Flyers return home for a not-so-glorious welcome when they host the NHL-leading Washington Capitals on Wednesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
We'll get into that and more with five things to know:
1. Capping things off
What's the Flyers' reward for salvaging the final game of a road swing through Canada? A date with the Capitals, who are the NHL's hottest team since New Year's Eve, and by a landslide.
Just how dominant has Washington been?
Dating back to Dec. 31, the Capitals are 19-3-2 and have scored an incomprehensible 104 goals in those 24 games. That's 4.33 goals per game, while yielding only 50 markers over that stretch.
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Meanwhile, the Flyers have scored an NHL-low 40 goals since New Year's Eve and allowed 62 for an Eastern Conference-worst goal differential of minus-22.
Washington, coming off its first back-to-back defeats since Dec. 27-29, has lost three straight games only once this season.
2. A Ghost sighting
On Sunday, for the first time in close to four months, we saw the Shayne Gostisbehere from the Calder Memorial Trophy (top rookie) runner-up season last year.
The sophomore blueliner delivered his first three-point game of his career to ignite the Flyers to a 3-2 win over the Canucks.
Although Gostisbehere has made it clear he's focused on his defensive game, the Flyers are a different animal when he's generating offensive chances at 5-on-5 and the power play.
"He had his confidence and a little bit of swagger," Wayne Simmonds said of Gostisbehere's performance Sunday.
"Ghost has had his ups and downs this year, but he's a heck of a player and has unbelievable skill. He can be a catalyst offensively for us, that's for sure."
3. Good cage match
This one makes for an intriguing goalie matchup between Michal Neuvirth and Braden Holtby, who were once battling for the net in Washington.
Holtby is having another stud season after winning the 2015-16 Vezina Trophy (top goalie). Among all netminders, he is tied for first in goals-against average (2.01) and shutouts (seven), while he hasn't been beaten in regulation since Dec. 27.
The 27-year-old blanked the Flyers twice in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs and stopped 149 of 154 shots over the first-round series that the Capitals won in six games.
Neuvirth hasn't been too shabby himself, starting eight of the Flyers' last 10 games. Aside from a bad showing in a 6-3 loss to the Oilers, Neuvirth has not surrendered more than two goals in any other outing during that span.
A 2006 second-round pick of Washington, Neuvirth was brilliant last postseason against his former club, making 103 saves on 105 shots faced to get the Flyers two victories.
4. Keep an eye on ...
Flyers: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare can be crucial in these types of games. The fourth-line forward often sees work against the opposition's top offensive threats and is the Flyers' most important piece to the penalty kill. Bellemare has played 16-plus minutes in both meetings with the Capitals this season, while the PK is 15 for 17 in February and tied for the NHL's third-fewest goals against this month.
Capitals: T.J. Oshie is such an underrated asset for Washington. The right winger, who played his college hockey at North Dakota under Flyers coach Dave Hakstol, leads the NHL with a 22.8 shooting percentage, a big reason why the Capitals are scoring 3.34 goals per game, good for second most in hockey. Oshie has 26 points (13 goals, 13 assists) in his past 22 games and is a plus-24 on the season.
5. This and that
• Neuvirth has just two career regular-season matchups against the Capitals, going 1-0-0 with a 2.44 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.
• Holtby is 6-4-7 with a 2.71 goals-against average and .911 save percentage in 18 lifetime matchups with the Flyers.
• The Flyers are three points out of the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot, trailing the Panthers, Bruins and Islanders, all of whom have 66 points.
• Simmonds has four goals in his last five games.
• Claude Giroux has two points (one goal, one assist) in his previous 10 games.
• Washington ranks first in the NHL with a plus-69 goal differential.
• Jordan Weal (upper-body injury) is expected to miss his second straight game.
