PHILADELPHIA | There were several dozen hats thrown on the ice at Wachovia Center when Philadelphia Flyers fans thought Jeff Carter had recorded his third goal Saturday afternoon.
It turned out Scott Hartnell actually knocked the puck out of the air and into the net. No worries, though - Hartnell gave fans a do-over when he collected his third of the game a little later.
For the Washington Capitals, it was that kind of day. Philadelphia’s Antero Niittymaki baffled their shooters early, and eventually Carter and Hartnell bombarded their netminders in a 7-1 rout.
“It was just an odd, odd hockey game,” said Caps goalie Brent Johnson, who allowed three goals on 13 shots before being pulled after the second period. “We had all the pressure in their zone through the first 40 minutes, but we just couldn’t get one in. Niittymaki made some good saves - can’t take anything away from him.”
It was the first time Washington had faced Philadelphia since the Flyers bounced them from the playoffs in April - and there would be no vengeance for the Caps. Niittymaki survived a record-tying onslaught by the Caps in the opening 20 minutes, and eventually the frustrated visitors broke.
Hartnell and Carter combined for five goals; linemate Joffrey Lupul chipped in another for the Flyers, who are 14-2-3 since a 4-6-3 start. Brooks Laich ended Niittymaki’s shutout bid 5:09 into the third period, but the Finnish goaltender turned aside 47 shots to put a humble end to Washington’s five-game winning streak.
“We’re not happy with it, especially against this hockey team,” Laich said. “It wasn’t just a 2-1 loss. … We’re looking forward to playing them again.”
Not only did the Caps yield seven goals for the second time this season and endure their worst loss since a 7-1 beating by Toronto in November 2006, the team also lost defenseman Tom Poti after five shifts in the first period to a groin injury. Poti has already missed a combined 11 games in two stints with the same problem.
The Caps fired 25 shots on net in the first period, but Niittymaki was perfect. There were two shots off the post and several off the side of the net, but Washington could not score. Counting misses and blocks, the Caps attempted 41 shots in the period.
It tied a franchise record for shots on goal in a period, which was set in a 10-1 win against Tampa Bay in 1998. Philadelphia had never yielded more than 22 shots in a period at home.
Despite being outshot 25-6, the Flyers went to the dressing room with the lead. Lupul skated around Alexandre Giroux and snapped a shot past Johnson 4:29 in for his 11th of the season.
The shots kept coming - 14 more for Washington in the second period - but Niittymaki would not falter. Jeff Carter, who began the day trailing Buffalo’s Thomas Vanek by two goals for the NHL lead, pushed the Flyers’ lead to 3-0 in a span of 54 seconds.
Carter’s first goal came at 15:11 on a shot through a screen and Johnson’s legs. Eighteen seconds after Ossi Vaananen went to the penalty box, Carter collected his fourth short-handed goal of the season at 16:05. A pair of Flyers trapped Mike Green in the upper-right corner of the offensive zone, and Carter took off toward center ice. Braydon Coburn sent him on a breakaway, and Carter flipped in a backhander for his 24th goal.
“We knew they were good on the PK, and they go for goals,” Green said. “We just fell apart there a little bit, and they capitalized.”
Added coach Bruce Boudreau: “I think [Carter’s] second goal deflated us. By the time we got it back again, it was 3-0 and essentially, when you’re playing a goalie that’s in that kind of a zone, that’s pretty well it.”
Jose Theodore replaced Johnson after the second intermission, but the rout was on. Theodore had missed four games because of a hip flexor, and he yielded four goals - three to Hartnell - on 15 shots.
The final minutes took an ugly turn. Washington’s Donald Brashear fought for the second time and nearly a third in the final eight minutes; Matt Bradley also dropped his gloves late in the contest.
Hartnell tacked on his third goal with 3:35 to play, and Boudreau wasn’t pleased as the Flyers continued to pepper Theodore with the game in hand.
“What goes around comes around,” Boudreau said. “And it will.”
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