Knowing, as we do, how much the resident sports fans of our nation's capital enjoy a visit from their northern neighbor Philadelphia counterparts, today must be a real treat in the District of Columbia.
First: Where Are... Penn State? At FedEx Field, that's where. Droves of PA natives have stormed the area, and if they also happen to be Flyers fans, they may as well stick around for the on-ice battle at the Verizon Center tonight. The Flyers and Capitals have some unfinished business to get back to, with their previous contest having been decided in part by some questionable calls and non-calls leading to a 3-2 Caps victory in overtime. It was a very good game with a disappointing, ending.
Sergei Bobrovsky will get his first break in weeks, with Brian Boucher drawing the start.
For most fans, Peter Laviolette's move to give Bob a full night off may seem to come a game too late. The rookie was shelled at home by the Tampa Bay Lightning, losing his second straight game for the first time in his career. Boucher came in was also doused in gasoline and set ablaze in a still-close game, so for all we know, had Boosh started, Bob would have still seen the same amount of action. It was just one of those crazy nights.
Still, we'd have liked to have seen Bob be fresh ta death for tonight's contest, because these are the games we really get up for. Wins over the Hurricanes count the same in the standings and we're plenty happy to knock a few back while the Flyers topple the Islanders, but it's nowhere near as exciting to watch as a beating of the Capitals or Penguins. Those are the teams Flyer haters say they're not good enough to beat, the teams about which even some tepid Flyer fans will say, "Let's wait til they beat a few good teams before getting too excited."
No matter where you fall on that spectrum, we could all really use a win over the Capitals tonight. The Flyers themselves are a great team that could really use a big win.
(Photo by Mitchell Layton/NHLI via Getty Images)
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