No Alex Ovechkin, no problem thus far for the Washington Capitals against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Capitals have taken advantage of some struggles by Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky and lead 2-0 after one period of play. Nicklas Backstrom got the Capitals on the board early, and Mike Knuble scored late off a nifty pass by Jason Chimera.
Backstrom got things going just before the 12-minute mark when he lofted a soft shot from the blue line that somehow got by Bobrovsky for a 1-0 lead. The goal was Backstrom's 18th of the season. The Capitals then killed a Flyers penalty and got a second goal when Marcus Johansson found Chimera behind the boards, and Chimera fed it in front to Knuble who scored with his stick. The goal was the 20th of the season for Knuble, making it eight straight years with 20+ goals.
Michal Neuvirth has been solid in the first period as well, with 10 saves in the period. A win would put the Capitals in first place in the Eastern Conference.