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Flyers fall to Capitals, 3-2, in Washington

Less than 24 hours after a crushing home defeat, the Flyers carried a lead for most of Sunday's game against the NHL's best team. But they couldn't hold off mighty Washington.

WASHINGTON - Less than 24 hours after a crushing home defeat, the Flyers carried a lead for most of Sunday's game against the NHL's best team.

But they couldn't hold off mighty Washington.

Defenseman Matt Niskanen scored with 14 minutes, 36 seconds left in regulation to spark the Capitals to a hard-earned 3-2 win at the Verizon Center.

Niskanen picked up the puck in the neutral zone, skated between Shayne Gostsibehere and Michael Del Zotto, and beat goalie Steve Mason from in close to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead.

The Flyers were 0 for 5 on the power play _ including a five-on-three advantage for 53 seconds _ and it came back to haunt them.

Late in the game, Caps goalie Braden Holtby made big saves on Wayne Simmonds, Michael Raffl and Jake Voracek.

Fifty-one seconds into the third period, Flyers defenseman Nick Schultz scored on a point drive _ his first goal of the season _ after a faceoff win by Pierre-Edouard Bellemare against T.J. Oshie, knotting the score at 2-2.

Alex Ovechkin and Dmitry Orlov scored 69 seconds apart late in the second period to erase a 1-0 Flyers lead and key the win.

Misplays by defenseman Radko Gudas, who has struggled in recent games, contributed to both Washington goals.

Ovechkin, with defenseman Evgeny Medvedev draped all over him, managed to deflect home Karl Alzner's shot from the left boards with 4:04 to go in the second.

With his tally, Ovechkin joined Wayne Gretzky and Mike Gartner as the only players in NHL history to score 30 or more goals in his first 11 seasons. (Schultz scored his 30th goal, total, in his 14th season)
With 2:55 remaining in the second period, Orlov beat Mason from the left circle to give the Capitals their first lead.

Washington is 14-1-1 in its last 16 home games, with the Flyers handing the Caps the only defeat in that span.

The Flyers and Capitals exchanged good scoring chances in the first part of the second period.
Nick Cousins took a nice feed from Brayden Schenn and was in alone, but Holtby prevented what would have been his first NHL goal of his career with 13:41 to go in the period.

About 20 seconds later, the Capitals' Jason Chimera, sent in on a breakaway by Mike Richards, fired wide, enabling the Flyers to maintain their 1-0 lead.

In that same sequence, Mason made a point-blank save as he gloved Tom Wilson's shot.
Later in the period, the Caps killed a five-on-three Flyers power play that last 53 seconds.
Earlier, Del Zotto scored on a point drive that appeared to deflect off the right skate of Niskanen, giving the Flyers a 1-0 lead with 1:39 left in the first.

Gostisbehere and Cousins (first NHL point) had assists on Del Zotto's fourth goal of the season.
For Gostisbehere, it extended his points streak to eight games _ two shy of equaling the team's rookie record, set by Mikael Renberg in 1993-94.

On Saturday afternoon, the Flyers allowed the tying goal with 12.9 seconds left in regulation and dropped a 3-2 shootout decision to the New York Rangers. That same day, Washington rallied for a 3-2 shootout win in New Jersey.