Washington Capitals (27-15-9, fourth in the Metropolitan) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (15-24-9, eighth in the Metropolitan)
Philadelphia; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Alex Ovechkin leads Washington into a matchup against Philadelphia. He currently ranks fourth in the NHL with 62 points, scoring 31 goals and recording 31 assists.
The Flyers are 5-18-6 in conference matchups. Philadelphia averages 8.6 penalty minutes per game, the 10th-most in the Eastern Conference. Zack MacEwen leads the team serving 51 total minutes.
The Capitals are 8-3-1 against the rest of their division. Washington averages only 3.2 penalties per game, the fewest in the NHL. Alexander Alexeyev leads the team averaging 0.5.
In their last meeting on Nov. 6, Philadelphia won 2-1.
TOP PERFORMERS: Cam Atkinson leads the Flyers with 17 goals, adding 20 assists and totaling 37 points. Scott Laughton has four goals and six assists over the last 10 games for Philadelphia.
Ovechkin leads the Capitals with 62 points, scoring 31 goals and adding 31 assists. Nicklas Backstrom has three goals and five assists over the last 10 games for Washington.
LAST 10 GAMES: Flyers: 2-6-2, averaging 2.7 goals, 4.4 assists, 3.2 penalties and 6.7 penalty minutes while giving up 3.4 goals per game with an .892 save percentage.
Capitals: 5-5-0, averaging three goals, 4.5 assists, 3.2 penalties and 7.2 penalty minutes while allowing 2.5 goals per game with a .920 save percentage.
INJURIES: Flyers: Wade Allison: out (knee), Gerald Mayhew: day to day (eye), Patrick Brown: out (knee).
Capitals: Michal Kempny: out (health protocols), Justin Schultz: day to day (upper body).
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