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Caps cruise past Flyers

*Photo from NoVa Caps*
   Welcome to Washington Anthony Mantha. Mantha scored a goal and assist, Conor Sheary tallied 3 points,  and the Washington Capitals rolled past the Philadelphia Flyers with a 6-1 win on Tuesday night, the first game after acquiring Mantha and Michael Raffl on Monday, despite the fact that Raffl didn't play. 

   Sheary started the scoring 7:07 into the first period, making it 1-0 Caps early. At 8:45, Sean Couturier scored for the Flyers to tie things up. Then, it was all Washington. Tom Wilson, Nick Backstrom, and Carl Hagelin scored to make it 4-1 after one period. In the second, Mantha scored to make it a 5-1 game. In the 3rd, Alex Ovechkin scored to make it 6-1.

   Mantha said of scoring a goal and getting an assist in his debut that "Obviously when a team comes to get you, you want to look the best you can, and I think tonight was just a step forward for myself and kind of calmed the nerves a little bit. Have a good first game, and then just try and build confidence for the following games."

   Ilya Samsonov got the start in net for the Caps, picking up the win in a good showing. Samsonov saved 29 shots out of 30 that came his way, with the Couturier goal being his only hiccup. His record increased to a sturdy 10-3-1 this season, while the Capitals are in first place in the East Division, with a 28-11-4 record. 

   Capitals defensemen Nick Jensen said of the win that "We're coming out in the first five minutes of the game and striking hard, something that we've struggled with sometimes throughout the year, and then we're finishing the game with a lot of good attitude. So those are two things that we've kind of gone up and down with throughout the season, and I think we saw a complete game the last three games."

   On the other side, Brian Elliott got the loss for the Flyers, saving just 26 out of 32 shots in the losing effort. Elliott's record fell to 11-6-1 on the season, while the Flyers as a whole continue their tailspin of a month and a half now, dropping to 6th in the East Division with a 19-17-6 record. 

   Couturier said of the loss that "Tonight, I think the PK didn't get the job done, and it's tough for the momentum of a game when they're 2-for-2 in the first. We've got to be better than that in that area of the game. But all around, too, we need to be much better, solid. It's tough. It's not fun this year, I guess."

   The Flyers face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, with Carter Hart likely to start in goal. Vitek Vanecek figures to start for Washington in their game on Thursday, against the Buffalo Sabres. 

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