Capitals Overcome Flyers 3-1 With Key Goals, Saves, And Post-Olympic Resilience

The Washington Capitals defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 at Capital One Arena on Wednesday, marking their first game following the 2026 Olympic Winter Games break. Trevor van Riemsdyk scored the go-ahead goal at 14:08 of the third period, ending a 38-game goal drought and securing the victory. The play originated from a give-and-go between Declan Chisholm and Aliaksei Protas, with Chisholm passing to van Riemsdyk, who poked the puck past Flyers goalie Dan Vladar.

“It looked like they were changing,” van Riemsdyk said. “We were kind of changing too…Chis made a great play…just kind of give me an empty-netter.”

Protas And Sandin Lead Capitals While Flyers Struggle To Capitalize on Opportunities

Protas was a standout for the Capitals, recording a goal and an assist, while Rasmus Sandin scored his first goal in 40 games to give Washington a 1-0 lead at 13:52 of the second period. The goal came on a slick sequence from Jakob Chychrun to Hendrix Lapierre and then across the slot to Sandin, who beat Vladar with a wrist shot. Logan Thompson, celebrating his 29th birthday, made 23 saves to help Washington improve to five wins in six games.

For the Flyers, Noah Cates scored at 0:29 of the third period, tying the game 1-1 after Protas turned the puck over in the defensive zone. It was Cates’ first goal in 18 games. Coach Rick Tocchet acknowledged post-Olympic rust, noting sloppy coverage late in the game that allowed van Riemsdyk’s decisive goal. Christian Dvorak added that the Flyers needed to get “more gritty in front of the net and get some dirty goals.”

Capitals Show Resilience With Timely Goals, And Key Saves Against Flyers

A key moment came early in the third period when Thompson stopped a Matvei Michkov shot with his left pad, keeping the game tied and shifting momentum back to the Capitals. Protas later added an empty-net, short-handed goal during a 6-on-4 advantage at 19:34 to seal the 3-1 win.

Capitals coach Spencer Carbery recognized the team’s performance as far from perfect but emphasized the importance of starting the post-Olympic stretch on a positive note. “We just have to find ways to win games,” he said. “Coming off the break…finding a way to win and get us some momentum…was important.”

The Capitals demonstrated resilience and opportunism, with van Riemsdyk’s timely scoring, Sandin’s breakthrough goal, and Thompson’s critical saves giving Washington the edge in the first post-Olympic matchup. The Flyers showed flashes but struggled to capitalize on opportunities, leaving them with six losses in seven games and a need to find consistent scoring and defensive execution moving forward.