Emery returns, but Flyers fall

WASHINGTON - For the Flyers, the return of goalie Ray Emery did not mean a return to their winning ways today.

Left winger Brooks Laich scored two goals - including a shorthanded breakaway after he took the puck away from Flyers captain Mike Richards early in the final period - to carry the Washington Capitals to a 5-3 win at the reverberating Verizon Center.

Emery was making his first NHL appearance since Dec. 5; he had been sidelined after undergoing abdominal surgery. He wasn't sharp but could not be faulted for four of the goals.

"I felt all right; it wasn't like I felt I was going to steal a game or anything, but I felt pretty good," Emery said.

Before undergoing surgery on Dec. 9, Emery had struggled mightily, losing his last five decisions and compiling a 5.36 goals-against average in that span. The Flyers attributed it to his injury.

The Flyers, who got power-play goals from Jeff Carter and Danny Briere, outshot the Caps, 33-22.

"When they get chances, they bury them," Emery said. "I've got to make a couple more saves and maybe we get a goal at the end, but it just didn't happen."

Laich's shorthanded goal with 15 minutes, 4 seconds left was the killer as it gave Capitals a 4-2 lead. Alex Ovechkin made it 5-2 by scoring on a penalty shot with 4:12 to go.

"We shot ourselves in the foot; we gave a great offensive team far too many chances," said Richards, who was minus-2 and won just 38 percent of his face-offs. "We turned the puck over way to much . . . and they capitalized."

"They're one of the top teams in the league and really opportunistic - and we gave them one too many opportunities," said rookie James van Riemsdyk, who contributed an even-strength goal.

Carter's power-play goal, a wrist shot from the left circle that went between goalie Jose Theodore's legs, gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead after just 6:03. It was Carter's eighth goal in 17 career games against the Caps.

Less than two minutes later, former Flyer Mike Knuble scored from a familiar spot - the doorstep, to the left of the goal. Knuble knocked in an Ovechkin pass that deflected off defenseman Matt Carle for his 13th goal.

Midway through the period, Arron Asham made a steal in the Flyers' offensive end and fed van Riemsdyk for his 11th goal, a wrister from the slot, to put the Flyers ahead, 2-1.

But with 6:32 left in the opening period, Emery failed to control a rebound - it squirted, ever so softly, off his pads - and Laich tapped it into the empty net to make it 2-2 for his first goal in nine games. Just before the goal, Scott Hartnell and Briere failed to clear the puck out of the zone.

Theodore made a great save on Claude Giroux in front with 14:50 left in the second period. A few seconds later, Richards, who needs two goals to reach 100 in his career, rocketed a shot off the left post.

The Capitals took the lead - and ended a Flyers' penalty-killing streak that started seven games ago - as Alexander Semin scored just eight seconds after Carter went to the penalty box for holding.

A point drive by Mike Green was deflected in front by Laich, and the puck squirted to Semin, who knocked his 20th goal into the open net from the left of the crease. That gave Washington its first lead at 3-2 with 12:55 left in the second period.

The Flyers had killed 25 straight penalties before the goal.

With about four minutes left in the middle period, Carter raised his stick triumphantly, thinking he had scored another power-play goal and tied the score.

But with Theodore out of position after a scramble in front, defenseman Tom Poti came to his rescue, blocking Carter's point-blank shot with his right skate to keep the Caps ahead, 3-2.

"If we win the third period, we can win the hockey game and walk out with points," coach Peter Laviolette said. "We talked about it before the game - we can't turn it over [because] they're dynamic in transition."

It was the seventh straight game the Caps had scored four or more goals.