Flyers Waste Golden Opportunity to Gain Ground in Porter Martone’s Debut, Lose to Capitals in Ten-Goal Thriller

After the Flyers’ biggest win of the season Sunday night vs. the Dallas Stars, they headed into another important game against the Washington Capitals. The game also marked the debut of their number one prospect, Porter Martone. Just three days after his college season ended in the NCAA tournament, he signed his entry-level contract on Sunday. He showed some impression in his debut, with him playing 17 minutes and recording five shots on goal, and he had a couple of chances where it felt like he could’ve scored his first. He seemed ready for a team that was fighting for a playoff spot.

Unfortunately, the Flyers’ defense was sloppy all night. They gave up six goals in a 6-4 loss on a night when their Eastern Conference opponents lost, which could’ve helped the Flyers even if they got just a point. They finish the series with Washington at 2-2, and are still two points behind the Blue Jackets for the last wild card spot.

Daniel Vladar might’ve played one of, if not his worst game of the season. He let up five goals on 17 Washington shots. If Vladar even lets up three, the Flyers win. We don’t see this from him often, and it cost the Flyers a key two points.

The Capitals played very, very physical in an eventful first period, and by the end, they were up by two. But first, we got to see Martone hit the ice for the first time. He was on the line with both Travis Konecny and Christian Dvorak. He had an uneventful opening shift on the ice, but he did get into the penalty box quite early. Just 3:29 in, he got called for a delay of the game when he flicked the puck into the seats. The Caps were definitely trying to rattle the Flyers, laying down big hits all period.

The Flyers had a good chance when Martone slicked in the puck to Konecny, but the shot was blocked. And then, Tom Wilson, in his 900th game, scored from distance to give the Capitals the first goal of the game with around five minutes left in the period. And then just a few minutes later, Alex Ovechkin scored when it looked like for a second the Flyers were gonna survive a dangerous rush. Martone had coverage on Ovechkin and let him break through. That’s what happens when you face the all-time goal scorer.

There was a lot of fighting breaking out towards the end, with Konecky taking a big hit from Pierre-Luc Dubois. Carl Grundstrom was also hit hard as well. Trevor Zegras and Connor McMichael went at it, which both got them minors for slashing to end the period. The Flyers still outshot the Capitals 12-5, but they didn’t seem ready for the physicality Washington was giving them.

Travis Sanheim scored just 39 seconds in to start the second period, but was quickly waved off for goalie interference. Dvorak’s stick initially touched Capitals goalkeeper Logan Thompson, but it looked like the defenseman was forcing Dvorak in that spot. Coach Rick Tocchet challenged, and after review, it was confirmed that the goal was scored after the Washington player’s stick touched Thompson instead. Had that challenge been unsuccessful, the Capitals would’ve gone on the power play up 2-0, and who knows what would’ve happened. Instead, the Flyers got right back into it, and just a few minutes later, they tied it. Trevor Zegras had an excellent backhand pass to Grundstrom, and the Flyers immediately erased the first-period troubles.

That score wouldn’t stay the same for long. With Konecny going into the penalty box for tripping, the Capitals scored on the power play on a slapshot from Jakob Chychrun shortly after a faceoff. Right before the faceoff, Vladar took a shot right off the mask but was okay. Late in the period on another Washington power play, the Capitals scored their second on the man-advantage. Ryan Leonard scored on a deepshot which once again doubled the Capitals’ lead and gave them both goals back.

With under 30 seconds left, Martone had his best chance of the night from a feed from Matvei Michkov, but Thompson was there to stop it. After the Flyers stormed out of the gate to start the period, they fell flat from unnecessary penalties and poor penalty kills.

Just like the start of the second, the Flyers started the third by scoring right from the puck drop. This time, it was Dvorak just 33 seconds in from the second assist from Konecny. And then once again, it was Ovechkin just three minutes later, scoring his second of the night, with the Flyers immediately responding and continuing to make this a game. Rasmus Ristolainen created a lane, which Denver Barkey flipped right past Thompson.

Nothing major happened until late in the third, until the Flyers got a power play when Dylan Strome tripped Ristolainen. Vladar was pulled to make it 6-on-4, but the Flyers could not score. Tocchet took his timeout, and Wilson scored his second on an empty net to seal the game for the Capitals.

It ended the three-game winning streak and the eight-game road winning streak. Both losses occurred when the Flyers were in Washington. 

On a day when the Flyers got a lot of help from other teams around the league, they couldn’t take that opportunity to gain a ton of ground. They’ll be back home to play the Detroit Red Wings Thursday night, and Martone should receive a warm welcome to Philadelphia.

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