March 9, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, United States; Washington Capitals right winger Ryan Leonard (9) scores on Calgary Flames goaltender Devin Cooley (1) while Flames defenseman Brayden Pachal (94) defends during the third quarter at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Image It’s been a bumpy road to their season so far, but the Washington Capitals continue to prove their resilience.
Coming off a roller coaster win, the Capitals hope to carry a boost into Wednesday’s road game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Washington had lost three straight before posting a 7-3 win over the visiting Calgary Flames on Monday. The Capitals took a 3-0 lead after one period and looked as if they were headed for a comfortable victory. But the Flames tied the game at three goals in the second period, and Washington scored four times in the final 10 minutes of the third period.
“Every period felt like the complete opposite of the last period,” said Capitals forward Connor McMichael, who scored twice to snap a seven-game scoreless drought. “And you know, we weren’t happy with how the second game went, and I think that motivated us to come out and dominate the third game.”
Justin Sourdif had a goal and two assists and Hendrix Lapierre chipped in with a goal and an assist for Washington, which has not scored more than four goals in a game since late January.
“This is a resilient group,” Capitals coach Spencer Carberry said. “Despite our struggles and moments throughout the year that didn’t go as planned, you still can’t question the character of our entire group. They truly want to do the right thing, they care, they want to play hard and they want to compete.”
Philadelphia lost 6-2 at home against the New York Rangers on Monday. Dan Vladar allowed six goals on 24 shots but his teammates refused to blame the goalkeeper after the one-sided setback.
“I don’t think mentally we were sharp,” Flyers captain Sean Couturier said. “We gave up a lot of good opportunities and they took advantage of us.”
Matvei Michkov and Couturier scored for Philadelphia, which has won four of its previous five games. The Flyers allowed three goals on the power play as the Rangers’ slim playoff hopes suffered another hit.
“(The problem) was that we didn’t protect the middle of the ice, which we always talk about,” Philadelphia coach Rick Tosche said. “We’ve done a good job since the (Olympic) break, but tonight we have guys that have to stop in the slot and you have to protect the middle and we have to do a better job of boxing out. How many goals have we scored? Six? And how many have we scored in the middle of the slot or in front of the net? That’s the game.”
The Flyers enter Tuesday’s game seven points behind the Boston Bruins for the second wild-card spot, while the Capitals are five points back. Both Philadelphia (19 games remaining) and Washington (17 games remaining) need to cool off to advance to the postseason.
This is the third of four meetings between the teams this season.
The Flyers won 4-2 at home on Feb. 3 following Jamie Drysdale’s tying power-play goal with less than six minutes remaining. The Capitals got their revenge on February 25 with a 3–1 win at home when Trevor van Riemsdyk also scored the go-ahead goal with less than six minutes remaining.
Washington has won seven of its last eight games against Philadelphia.
–Field level media
