Derick Brassard and Sean Couturier each had second-period goals and Martin Jones made 31 saves as the Philadelphia Flyers won 2-1 to hand the Washington Capitals their first regulation home loss of the season on Saturday night.
Brassard scored with 8:42 left in the middle period, and Couturier followed 4 1/2 minutes later with his fifth goal of the season for the Flyers. Jones, who has won each of his first three starts with Philadelphia, stopped 14 of 15 shots in the third.
With the hosts down 2-0, Washington rookie Brett Leason snuck a shot underneath Jones 6:02 into the third. The Capitals missed a serious opportunity with a late power play, recording five shots on goal, but ultimately they had nothing to show for it.
Vitek Vanecek stopped 30 shots for Washington, which has gone 0-2-1 following a 5-0-3 start.
Though the first 20 minutes featured no scoring, Philadelphia outshot the Capitals 12-6 in the opening period. Its best chance of the frame came when Travis Konecny's wraparound attempt was stopped by a diving Vanecek.
The Flyers eventually cashed in on Brassard's one-timer after the Capitals failed to clear the zone. With 4:16 left in the second, Couturier made it 2-0 when he positioned himself in front of the net and got his stick on the puck to convert the tally.
Cam Atkinson, Claude Giroux, Justin Braun and Rasmus Ristolainen recorded assists for Philadelphia, which is 4-1-1 in its last six contests.
Washington star Alex Ovechkin has 10 goals on the young season but was blanked Saturday. He remains at 740 career goals, one shy tying Brett Hull for fourth on the NHL's all-time list.
--Field Level Media
Philadelphia | Washington | |
Derick Brassard 1 | Points | Brett Leason 1 |
Derick Brassard 1 | Goals | Brett Leason 1 |
Cam Atkinson 1 | Assists | John Carlson 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Martin Jones .969 | Save Percentage | Vitek Vanecek .938 |
Martin Jones 31 | Saves | Vitek Vanecek 30 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Philadelphia | 32 | 2 | 0-1 | 3-3 | 6 | 27 |
Washington | 32 | 1 | 0-3 | 1-1 | 2 | 24 |