Flyers Beat Capitals 2-1 In Shootout

Nick Cousins and Sam Gagner both scored in a shootout to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 2-1 home victory over the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night.

Flyers Beat Capitals 2-1 In Shootout

With the win, the Flyers (38-25-13) are now out of a tie with the Detroit Red Wings for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Alex Ovechkin scored the opening goal for Washington on a power-play 1:30 into the third period after receiving a pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov. Ovechkin fired a wrist shot from the left circle past Philadelphia goalie Steve Mason’s glove side to score his league-leading 44th goal. The Capitals (54-16-6) were seeking a franchise record for victories after already clinching home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs with the NHL’s best regular-season record.

The Flyers then tied the game at 1 with their own power-play goal with 5:28 left in the game, after Brayden Schenn deflected Claude Giroux’s slap shot high over Washington goalie Braden Holtby for his 25th goal of the season. Mason made 29 saves in regulation and overtime combined for the Flyers.

The Capitals had a close chance in the penalty-filled overtime: Nicklas Backstrom fired a slap shot on a power play that hit the post with 3:54 left in OT.

Veteran Capitals forward Jason Chimera was also caught poking Flyer rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere to the midsection with the butt-end of his stick during a stoppage in play with roughly 2:31 left in the second period.

Chimera got away after there was no call on the play. Gostisbehere went down, got back up and spat out some choice words at Chimera.

Caption: NEWARK, NJ – FEBRUARY 06: Jason Chimera #25 of the Washington Capitals takes the puck in the first period against the New Jersey Devils on February 6, 2016 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)