Flyers hand Caps loss on Sunday Afternoon

In Washington, DC, the Philadelphia Flyers handed the Capitals a 7-4 loss on Sunday afternoon.

“It’s been a little bit of a while,” Laughton said. “I don’t know when my last one would have been, probably in junior, my last year (2013-14). … It’s just a good feeling to help contribute.”

Carter Hart made 33 saves for the win.

“There’s no doubt that [Couturier] is a difference maker and he wanted to play today,” Flyers head coach Alain Vigneault said. “I talked about bringing him [along] gradually … and we were just going to feel it out to see how he was feeling and sensing his game. At the end I just decided to play him more and more.”

Alex Ovechkin had a pair of goals for the Caps.

Tom Wilson had a single marker for Washington.

“We let in too many goals tonight,” Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette said. “We scored enough to win. I thought we could have scored more. There was a few that didn’t bounce our way. I don’t think it was a barrage coming at us defensively, but they capitalized on the chances that they did get.”

“I felt great all game, from the start to the end,” Couturier said.

Robert Hagg and James van Riemsdyk also scored for Philadelphia.

“It definitely wasn’t the [start] we wanted, but that top line is tough to handle and we had our hands full,” Vigneault said. “But every game unfolds differently. I liked our response tonight.”

Nicklas Backstrom tied the game up at 4-4 with seconds left on the clock in the second period.

The Flyers rebounded with three unanswered goals in the third.

Vitek Vanecek got the start, but was given the hook late in the middle frame after yielding four goals and making just 10 saves.

Craig Anderson surrendered a pair of markers and made six saves in a mop up role.

“Today we got beat up the ice both on set breakouts and on rushes,” the Capitals’ Lars Eller, who had an assist in his first game back after being out four because of a lower-body injury.