FLYERS NEWS

Fresh off a disappointing loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Flyers traveled to Washington today looking rebound with a big win over Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals. In a bit of surprise move, given how long it's been since he has played and the caliber of opponent, Ray Emery was given the nod to start in goal. Not surprisingly he looked every bit like a goalie who hadn't taken the ice in over a month, allowing 5 goals while facing only 22 shots. He just wasn't as sharp as you would expect a healthy Emery to be and struggled to handle rebounds for much of the day. The Flyer's defense did necessarily help him that much either. While they did hold Washington to only 22 shots on goal, too many of them were point blank shots at Emery which he just wasn't ready for. There were just too many instances where Flyer's were unable to keep up with the speedy Caps.

Despite the defensive struggles the Orange and Black still were still able to put forth a decent effort and keep things close for most of the contest. In fact, it wasn't until the 3rd period that Washington finally pulled away. Early on in the 1st period the Flyers actually had lead, first 1-0 on a power play goal by Jeff Carter and then 2-1 on a tally by James Van Reimsdyk. About midway through the 2nd period Washington finally took it's first lead by scoring on there only power play of the day, following a questionable holding call on Carter. Early in the 3rd period the Flyers had an opportunity on the power play to knot things up again, but they allowed the Washington penalty kill to get a rush into their zone and Caps took advantage with a shorthanded tally to make it 4-2. Later in the 3rd peirod, as if he needed anymore advantage, Ovechkin was awarded a penalty after Braydon Coburn desperately pulled him down in front of the net to avoid allowing an easy score. Ovechkin easily beat the Emery for a 5-2 lead which pretty put things out of reach for the Flyers. Danny Briere did score a late power play though to make the final score a more respectable 5-3. So after all the winning and success they had been having, the Flyers have now dropped 2 in a row and almost appear to be right back to where they started.

The Flyers are still only 1 point out of 8th in the Eastern conference but they can't afford to keep losing like this. They've got a homestand coming up now and they really need it to become a good one if they want to stay that close to the last playoff spot in the East. The last time Ray Emery started for the Flyers was Dec 5. against these same Capitals, in an 8-2 nightmare loss for the Flyers. Maybe he shouldn't play against the Caps anymore or perhaps the Flyers should have held him back for one more game, where he could have returned to action against a much lesser opponent. It's loo late now though, so here's hoping he shakes off the rust before long.