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NHL on NBCSN: Third time’s the charm for Flyers vs Capitals?

Nicklas Backstrom, Braydon Coburn, Steve Mason

Washington Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom (19), from Sweden, and Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Braydon Coburn (5), watch a goal by Alex Ovechkin, from Russia, go past goalie Steve Mason (35) in the third period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013, in Washington. The Capitals won 5-4 in a shootout. Ovechkin’s goal sent the game into overtime and the Capitals won 5-4 in a shootout. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

AP

NBCSN continues its coverage of the 2013-14 campaign tonight when the Philadelphia Flyers host the Washington Capitals at the Wells Fargo Center at 7:30 p.m. ET. In addition to NBCSN, you can also watch the game online.

The Philadelphia Flyers have already fired their head coach this season and they attempted to shake things up with the acquisition of forward Steve Downie. That hasn’t ended the team’s struggles and after they blew a 4-1 lead to the Washington Capitals in the final nine minutes of regulation time, Flyers owner Ed Snider was forced to once again weigh his options.

“Whatever we can do to help the team get over the hump, we will do,” Snider said.

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Despite their mediocre to bad showing thus far, the Flyers remain tantalizingly close to a playoff spot in the anemic Metropolitan Division. That makes tonight’s rematch against Washington more than just a chance at revenge. It’s an opportunity to push themselves forward in their ongoing battle for a postseason berth.

The Capitals are sure to make things tough for them though. They aren’t 2-0 against the Flyers this season because they have their number, they’re just a genuinely good team.

Alex Ovechkin alone makes them a big threat on a nightly basis. He had five goals in three contests last week, bringing him up to an incredible 27 in 31 games. That’s more goals than any Flyers player has in points.

He’s not their only weapon though. Nicklas Backstrom is continuing his trend of averaging about a point-per-game, Mikhail Grabovski is on pace to comfortably surpass his previous career-high of 58 points, and 23-year-old Marcus Johansson has developed into a solid offensive threat.

They also rank second in the league with a 24.4% conversation rate on their power-play opportunities. That means Philadelphia should attempt to play a disciplined game, although that hasn’t been something they’ve been able to do for the most part this season.

With that in mind, the Flyers will need to lean on its goaltending, which has typically been strong in 2013-14 even if that hasn’t been the case in their previous meetings against Washington. However, it’s not a foregone conclusion that the Flyers would lose a high-scoring contest. They have a talent group of forwards despite their struggles this season and that’s shone through at various times.

Perhaps the Flyers will come out strong tonight and if they do, maybe they’ll be able to hold onto the lead. One thing is apparent though: If the Flyers don’t act soon; Snider will.

Follow @RyanDadoun