The wheels would fall off late in the second period when turnovers lead to two quick goals by the Flyers. First, a turnover lead to a Petr Straka breakaway where he would score on a backhand to beat Caps 2nd round pick Vitek Vanecek. Quickly after that Flyer rookie Nicolas Aube-Kubel attempted a wrap around, and Taylor Leier would be right on the doorstep to get the puck passed Vanecek.
In the third the Caps could not put enough pressure on the Flyers goalie, their best chance came when free agent forward Cole Wilson pick pocketed a Flyer defender and then hit the post with his shot. Late in the period Troy Mann would pull Vanecek for six skaters. Andre Burakovsky would be be robbed on a shot in the slot and then Kevin Goumas would get an empty net goal to put the Caps away.
My Thoughts:
I expected a little bit of a sloppy game but I thought the Caps had a rough time all game just getting any pressure on the Flyers. John Walton said on the broadcast that the Flyers had more pro ready players then the Caps and it looked that way. I was very impressed with Pheonix Copley who is my player of the game today. I also thought 3 defensemen stood out. First, the pairing of Madison Bowey and Christian Djoos had a solid game. However, I really liked the play of Michal Cajkovsky. The big man was solid in his own zone and had good wheels for as big as he is. He also had a first period fight against Austin Fyten.
Overall I was not impressed with the forwards though Chandler Stephenson set up Nathan Walker with a good chance in the first period. As well as Burakovsky having a couple chances it looked like a rough game for the forwards.
Next up:
The big boys are in town for their first day on Thursday. They will practice a couple days before they play the Buffalo Sabres at the Verizon Center on Sunday.
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