Hindered by second-period woes, Flyers drop preseason game, 3-1, to the Washington Capitals

Even in the preseason, the second-period ghost of the Flyers’ past still haunts the vaguely new-look team.

Last season, the Flyers often collapsed in the second period, as opponents outscored them 103-71 through 82 games. The Flyers sang the second-period blues once again on Wednesday at the Wells Fargo Center, allowing two goals in the middle frame and falling 3-1 to the Washington Capitals in their third preseason contest. They seldom escaped their own zone in the second period, only managing five shot attempts to the Capitals’ nine.

“Second periods are a reflection of good teams,” assistant coach Brad Shaw said. “The teams that feel like they’re up at that upper echelon, they tend to have good second periods. And so if we’re going to become a good team, we have to clean up our second periods.”

Capitals offseason acquisitions Connor Brown and Dylan Strome notched goals — one for Brown, two for Strome — to hand the Flyers their second loss of the preseason. Veteran, bona-fide NHL players including Kevin Hayes and Scott Laughton made their preseason debuts, with Hayes scoring the Flyers’ lone goal of the night early in the third period.

Goalie Felix Sandström got another look in the ongoing backup goaltender competition against Troy Grosenick. Through the first two periods, Sandström came up with 13 saves on 15 shots. Samuel Ersson took over in the third period, denying 11 of 12 shots.

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After dealing with a myriad of injuries throughout his professional career, including ankle and MCL sprains last season, Flyers right winger Wade Allison is on a mission to prove that he’s capable of being a consistent NHL contributor. Allison, 24, stood out immediately with his playmaking capabilities early. More than halfway through the first period, Allison won a puck battle by pinning his opponent with his body in the corner of the offensive zone, passing the puck down low to left winger Olle Lycksell. A Capital knocked Lycksell off the puck, but Allison recovered it below the goal line. He found Laughton in the low slot with a centering pass, all the while falling to the ice, but Laughton was denied by goalie Charlie Lindgren.

Nearly nine minutes later, Allison nearly scored off of a transition rush. At the blue line, Lycksell passed the puck ahead to Laughton, who found Allison driving to the right post. Allison dragged the puck from his forehand to his backhand, but Lindgren came up with the save and the Flyers failed to capitalize on the rebound. After he was promoted to the top line in the third period, Allison’s forechecking along the boards in the Capitals’ zone created a turnover and led to Hayes’ goal.

“That’s Wade’s game,” Hayes said. “He’s a north-south player that plays heavy and plays hard. I obviously scored, but it wouldn’t have happened without him. He’s one of those guys that’s trying to certify himself in the NHL, and I think he’s doing a good job.”

With winger Cam Atkinson dealing with an undisclosed upper-body injury, right winger Tyson Foerster was promoted to the top line alongside Hayes and winger Owen Tippett. Since the Flyers selected him 23rd overall in the 2020 draft, Foerster has been touted for his scoring capabilities. He flashed his skill set halfway through the first period during a give-and-go with Hayes. Foerster drove toward the left post, passing the puck to Hayes at the slot. When Foerster received the puck back from Hayes, he had more room to shoot on Lindgren, but his shot missed the net.

But his line struggled to generate offense through the first two periods, finishing with two shot attempts to their opponent’s seven when the three were together on the ice. In the third period, Foerster swapped places with Allison and slotted in on the second line.

“I just didn’t feel on tonight,” Foerster said. “I couldn’t really handle the puck, and I only had two shots. So I think I played better in the first game, but there’s always room for improvement in both of those games.”

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Wednesday night’s game served as a preview for the Flyers’ top two defensive pairings — Ivan Provorov and Tony DeAngelo and Travis Sanheim and Rasmus Ristolainen. DeAngelo, whom the Flyers acquired from the Carolina Hurricanes this offseason, got his first in-game chance to test the waters with his new partner, Provorov. The duo was on the ice for the Capitals’ first goal of the game. DeAngelo struggled to corral an errant pass from Laughton, and the puck ultimately bounced out of Provorov’s reach, leading to a turnover and Brown’s goal.

However, the Flyers’ defense did a decent job of keeping the Capitals’ shots to the outside in their first preseason game, save for Strome’s breakaway goal in the third period. Although the Capitals outshot the Flyers, 27-21, they only finished the game with one high-danger scoring chance, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Flyers head to TD Garden for their fourth game of the preseason against the Boston Bruins at 1 p.m. Saturday.