NBC’s coverage of the 2018-19 NHL season continues with Sunday afternoon’s matchup between the Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals. Coverage begins at 12 p.m. ET on NBC. You can watch the game online and on the NBC Sports app by clicking here.
If the Washington Capitals want their fourth consecutive Metropolitan crown, they’re going to have to stop this little skid that they’re on.
They currently lead the division, but that lead is only one point ahead of both the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins. and two straight losses have prevented them from opening up a gap between themselves and the other two clubs.
Sunday’s game against the Flyers, who are all but mathematically out, is an opportunity for the Capitals to get back on track.
“We didn’t play our game at all,” said Alex Ovechkin after their 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Friday. “We knew they were going to play desperate — they need points, as we do — but I think the sense of urgency was on their side, not on our side...everybody needs points right now. It doesn’t matter who you play against; it’s not going to be an easy one, especially a team who fights for a playoff spot. It’s playoff hockey. I don’t think we were ready tonight, and the blame’s on us.”
Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 48 goals, will be on 50-watch once again. He hasn’t scored in three games.
T.J. Oshie will be Washington’s featured player on Star Sunday. He has just one goal in his past 10 games but three points in his past two.
The Flyers, meanwhile, need to win, pray, repeat. They lost 4-2 to the Islanders on Saturday and are in tough against a rested Capitals team. Philly is seven points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the final wildcard in the Eastern Conference.
Claude Giroux will be the Flyers’ rep for Star Sunday.
He leads the Flyers with 80 points this season and is on a five-game point streak with seven assists during that stretch.
[WATCH LIVE – COVERAGE BEGINS AT 12 P.M. ET – NBC]
What: Philadelphia Flyers at Washington Capitals
Where: Capital One Arena
When: Sunday, March 24, 12 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Live stream: You can watch the Flyers-Capitals stream on NBC Sports’ live stream page and the NBC Sports app.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
FLYERS
Oskar Lindblom -- Sean Couturier -- Jakub Voracek
James van Riemsdyk -- Nolan Patrick -- Claude Giroux
Michael Raffl -- Scott Laughton -- Travis Konecny
Phil Varone -- Corban Knight -- Ryan Hartman
Ivan Provorov -- Travis Sanheim
Shayne Gostisbehere -- Philippe Myers
Robert Hagg -- Radko Gudas
Starting goalie: Brian Elliott
CAPITALS
Alex Ovechkin -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Tom Wilson
Carl Hagelin -- Lars Eller -- T.J. Oshie
Jakub Vrana - Travis Boyd -- Brett Connolly
Andre Burakovsky -- Nic Dowd -- Chandler Stephenson
Christian Djoos -- John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik -- Nick Jensen
Starting goalie: Braden Holtby
Six-time Emmy Award-winner Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick (play-by-play), Ed Olczyk (analyst) and Pierre McGuire (‘Inside-the-Glass’ analyst) will have the call from Washington D.C. Liam McHugh will anchor studio coverage alongside Mike Milbury and Keith Jones.
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck
