NHL Wednesday Night Rivalry Game
Face-off: Wednesday, 8:00 p.m. ET
Line: N/A

The Flyers will be looking to keep their playoff hopes alive with a win over the Capitals on Wednesday. Philadelphia’s remarkable 11-3-2 run has elevated the team above the cut line for the NHL playoffs, but the Flyers remain tied in points for the final invitation with Detroit, albeit with two less games played. Meanwhile, the Washington Capitals just recently clinched the President’s Trophy for the league’s best record before anyone in their conference even clinched a playoff berth. Staying healthy before the postseason would be a win for Washington; for Philadelphia, a win means what it always does: Two points.

In a situation like this, you need to throw the teams’ records out the window and take prior trends with a grain of salt. Philadelphia will come in extremely motivated and will have a raucous crowd on their side; they are 4-1 in their last five home games. Another positive for the Flyers: They are 7-3 in their last 10 against Washington, so they’ve given the Capitals trouble even when their opponent has had something to play for. And while the Capitals have largely beaten everyone, everywhere of late, they are just 1-4 in their last five games in Philadelphia.

Still, these are the Capitals, the powerhouse that will enter the postseason as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup. It’s easy to see why: Alex Ovechkin (43 G, 21 A, 64 PTS) continues to build his resume as one of hockey’s greatest ever scorers; Nicklas Backstrom (20 G, 47 A, 67 PTS) continues to be one of hockey’s unsung heroes; off-season acquisitions Justin Williams (22 G, 28 A, 50 PTS) and T.J. Oshie (24 G, 22 A, 46 PTS) have fit in seamlessly. And we haven’t even mentioned Washington’s top scorer—23-year-old Evgeny Kuznetsov (20 G, 53 A, 73 PTS). The Capitals are the second-highest scoring team in the NHL at 3.1 goals per game and second on the power play with a 23.6% conversion rate. Braden Holtby (2.19 GAA, 92.3 SV%) has been strong all season and is nearing an NHL wins record; he currently has 46. With those gaudy numbers, it may not come as a surprise that Washington allows the fewest goals per game at 2.3

Clearly, the Flyers can’t expect a team of this caliber to back off simply because of its locked-in position as the league’s No. 1 team. They’ll need continued production from Brayden Schenn (24 G, 29 A, 53 PTS), Sean Couturier (10 G, 26 A, 36 PTS), Claude Giroux (22 G, 42 A, 64 PTS) and Michael Raffl (12 G, 16 A, 28 PTS), all of whom have amassed 10 or more points in the month of March. Philadelphia, a team with a history of taking excessive penalties, actually earns the second-most power-play chances per game at 3.4, so converting on the man-advantage will be paramount to keep up with the Capitals’ explosive offense and penetrate its stingy defense.