It’s not unusual to see friends rooting for opposing teams at a Caps/Flyers game. (Caps Outsider)
Aside from the Caps’ ongoing, venomous rivalry with the Pittsburgh Penguins, their tenuous relationship with the Philadelphia Flyers throughout the years has been quite ‘icy’ as well, to say the least. Due to the close proximity of the two teams, it’s a hop and skip down I-95 for Flyers fans, in all their orange glory, to visit Verizon Center for a Metropolitan Division romp, and vice versa. Saturday evening was no exception. Looking out over Verizon Center at puck drop fans are usually overwhelmed by a sea of red, but not this night. Don’t get me wrong there was still a ton of red, but there was certainly a boat load of orange.
Instantly, fans from both camps got what they paid for. Only 1 minute and 15 seconds into the game, Caps forward Tom Wilson was at it again, duking it out. Then, forty seconds later, Caps forward Justin Williams was entangled with a group of Flyers resulting in Williams being slapped with back-to-back 2 minute penalties for roughing. Two fights in less than 2 minutes….hmm….and the tone for the contest was set on the ice and in the stands. The Flyers fans were shouting, “Let’s Go Flyers” with a quick reply from the Caps faithful, “Flyers suck.” Even with all the screaming and expected insults, there was still no score at the end of the first period……or the second. On paper, the 43-13-7 Caps with 93 pts should have been cleaning the ice with the 30-26-7 Flyers with 67 pts. Onward to the third……….
The Flyers struck first with a goal from Sean Couturier, but the Caps immediately retaliated with a Dmitry Orlov goal tying the game 1-1. With 9 minutes left in the game, Caps fans ‘unleashed the fury’ and Axl Rose welcomed the Flyers ‘to the jungle’ as the infamous charge echoed throughout the arena, but to no avail. The Caps had been bogging themselves down with penalties all night long.
And then, overtime, and at least one point in the standings for the Caps. A break came for the guys in red with 2 minutes and 40 seconds left in OT–a power play. Nicklas Backstrom netted the game winning goal as Caps beat the Flyers 2-1.
Red and orange blended together as the as fans left Verizon Center until another day, when these steadfast division rivals meet again.
Let’s Go Caps!
