Special teams played a huge part in last night’s game, both good and bad, with the Caps killing all of their penalties and also scoring two shorthanded goals…but also rolling out a lifeless, uninspiring power play that gave up plenty of shorthanded chances of its own. The key point in this one, however, wasn’t a special teams goal (although it wasn’t an even-strength goal, either) but rather a four-on-four tally that showcased the ability – so far – by this year’s squad to bounce back quickly.
Early in the third period, the Flyers finally broke through, with Travis Sanheim scoring his first of the season roughly 30 seconds into the final frame to cut the Caps’ lead to one. The building came alive again, and it felt like this could be the moment when the Flyers storm back into the game.
Enter Dylan Strome.
With the Flyers in possession of the puck again, Strome identified his man – Jamie Drysdale – and stuck to him like glue, chasing him all around the defensive zone. His tenacity paid off, as a well-timed stick check at the blue line forced a turnover and sent the puck out to center ice, where Strome and Drysdale continued to battle before Strome got the puck into the Flyers’ zone:

Once in the zone, Strome, Connor McMichael and John Carlson played a little keep away with the puck before putting it on net, where this happened:
Look, sometimes you’re good, and sometimes you’re lucky – and sometimes, like in this case, you’re a little of both. Just 1:04 seconds after the Flyers made it 2-1, the Caps regained their two-goal lead, and never looked back.
Overall a bit of a weird game, and the Flyers won’t have to wait long to try to exact revenge, as the two teams get to do it all over again in DC tonight. Hopefully, the Caps come out stronger to start, score early, and keep piling on the goals for a fun win in front of the fans.