Flyers Pick up Slack for Injured Teammates, Casually Rout Capitals

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From deflections to well-placed screens to a general lack of preparedness from not one, but two Capitals goalies, the Flyers proved on Tuesday night that good things do indeed happen when you put the puck on net.

Five different Flyers—Hartnell, Bourdon, Simmonds, Talbot and Voracek—found themselves on the score sheet, while goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov was plenty solid when called upon, backstopping a 5-1 victory for the team's sixth-straight win.

Even without captain Chris Pronger, league point leader Claude Giroux and the rest of the their missing cast of characters, the Flyers showed, as Matt pointed out in the game thread, that they're still "every bit a team that should be expected to be in every game they play." Against the still-struggling Caps, they were far more than just "in" the game.

game summary, assorted notes and highlights below...

Game Summary:
Capitals goalie Tomas Vokoun was shaky from the start, frequently scrambling and looking badly out of position. And, even when he was square to the shooter, he wasn't always attentive. Take, for example, a simple wrist shot from the top of the left hand circle that caught Vokoun totally off-guard and with his five hole wide open. The goal, the 200th of Scott Hartnell's career, put the Flyers ahead 1-0 by the end of the first.

The third period played out in largely unremarkable fashion, with both the Caps and the Flyers netting one a piece. For the Orange & Black, Jake Voracek would beat Capitals backup Michal Neurvirth on yet another deflection, just managing to keep his stick under the crossbar to prevent the goal from being called back after a review from the War Room in Toronto.

Notes:
--Hartnell's career 200th makes it six straight games for the winger with a goal. Not the strongest skater, but, man, what a shot (Is that goal regulation size or what?).

--Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said he before the game that he has been looking to increase Jakub Voracek's ice time, but hadn't found the right time. With Giroux out the lineup, he finally found the opportunity. Voracek led all Flyers forwards in ice time in the first period and played a total 17:18 on Tuesday night.

--While we're on the subject, Matt Carle led all skaters with a registered 25:27 TOI. He was up over ten minutes after just the first period.

--Braydon Coburn turned in a particularly strong performance, leading all skaters with four hits and assisting on Talbot's goal (as seen above). Always nice to see a strong night from Coby. He sometimes has a style where his most effective nights are when he's the least noticeable, and where his most noticeable nights are when he's the least effective. Guy gets a tough rap sometimes. Good to see him stand out in a positive manner.

--Largely held in the check for the entirety of the evening, superstar Alexander Ovechkin was given little time and even less space. Though his 2011-2012 struggles continue, it's worth noting that Ovechkin is quickly becoming one the great modern Flyer killers. In 24 games against Philadelphia, Ovechkin has a filthy 37 points on 22 goals and 15 assists. For reference, those numbers are more than just slightly ahead of the pace set by Claude Giroux's league-leading 39 points in 28 games this season.

--Jaromir Jagr was treated to litany of boos from the crowd at the Verizon Center nearly every time he touched the puck. Though his time in Washington was somewhat unremarkable despite better than a point-per-game average, the backlash was actually a little surprising and funny.

Upcoming Schedule:
The Flyers will be back at in Montreal on Thursday night. After their meeting with the Habs, they will host the Bruins on Saturday before playing their next five straight on the road. They will return home for, you guessed it, the Winter Classic on January 2nd. Speaking of which, don't forget that HBO's 24/7 Flyers-Rangers series premieres tomorrow night at 10 p.m.

Full Highlights:

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