T.J. Oshie scored the winning goal into an empty net with three minutes remaining as the visiting Washington Capitals clinched a playoff spot with a 2-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
Trailing the Capitals by two points, the Flyers needed to win in regulation to keep their playoff chances alive, so Philadelphia coach John Tortorella pulled goalie Samuel Ersson with 3:10 remaining in a 1-1 game. Seconds later, Oshie skated in along the right boards and shot into the empty net.
The Capitals (40-31-11, 91 points) completed the regular season with a third consecutive win to seal their playoff berth. They missed the postseason in 2022-23 after a streak of eight straight playoff campaigns. Washington has made the playoffs in 15 of the past 17 seasons.
Alex Ovechkin scored for the Capitals, and Charlie Lindgren made 27 saves.
Erik Johnson scored for the Flyers (38-33-11, 87 points) who had won two straight after an 0-6-2 stretch. Ersson made 16 saves.
The Detroit Red Wings beat the Montreal Canadiens 5-4 in a shootout on Tuesday to finish tied with the Capitals in points, but Washington won the regulation-wins tiebreaker 32-27.
The Flyers nearly took a 1-0 lead at 8:17 of the first period. A shot by Joel Farabee hit Lindgren and deflected high into the air. The officials, apparently thinking Lindgren caught the puck, blew the whistle before the puck landed behind Lindgren in the crease and deflected in off Farabee.
After a lengthy review, it was ruled that the play was dead — and not a continuous play from the initial shot — as the puck hit a player before going into the net.
The Capitals took a 1-0 lead at 18:08 of the first. Dylan McIlrath shot the puck on net from along the right boards, and it deflected in off Ovechkin, who was credited with his 13th goal in the past 17 games.
Johnson tied it at 12:29 of the second period when Egor Zamula’s shot deflected off him in front of the crease and past Lindgren.
Lindgren robbed Travis Konecny with his left pad on a rebound chance with about 2:10 left in the middle period.
