The Flyers made the Capitals sweat in the third period Thursday night.
But it wasn't enough to take down the NHL's best. John Tortorella's club fell to Washington, 3-2, at Capital One Arena.
The Flyers went into the final stanza trailing 3-0. Ryan Poehling snapped the team's drought of nine periods without a goal to draw it within two. Sean Couturier then made it a one-goal game with 2:36 minutes left.
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The Flyers outshot Washington 16-2 in the third period and 28-16 on the night, but they couldn't net the equalizer.
The Flyers (28-34-8) are 1-8-0 over their last nine games, a stretch in which they've been outscored 35-13. Since Jan. 23, Tortorella's club has lost 16 of its last 22 games (6-14-2). Only the Sharks have fewer points than the Flyers over that span.
The Capitals (46-15-8) have 100 points and an NHL-leading .725 points percentage. The Flyers went 0-4-0 against Washington this season and gave up 4.25 goals per game.
They're 5-15-4 against the NHL's top-10 teams. Last season, they had 13 wins over top-10 clubs.
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• Samuel Ersson finished with 13 saves.
Alex Ovechkin climbed one goal closer to passing Wayne Gretzky's all-time record of 894. The 39-year-old made it 1-0 in the first period with career marker No. 888. He has scored 52 of those against the Flyers.
In the second period, the Flyers had a couple of turnovers that led to the Capitals taking control of the game.
Washington netminder Charlie Lindgren stopped 26 shots.
Travis Konecny had some great looks but couldn't push one across. That's how it has gone for the Flyers' leading scorer. He has one goal and 10 assists in the last 23 games.
Matvei Michkov went a sixth straight game without a point.
• With 12 games left, the Flyers could fall into the bottom four of the NHL standings. While it wouldn't be a good look for this season, it would help the Flyers' 2025 NHL draft lottery odds.
The Flyers, 28th in the league's 32-team standings, are four points ahead of the Sabres, but Buffalo has three games in hand. The Flyers and Sabres have two more head-to-head matchups.
The Flyers were 24th in the NHL standings after they knocked off the Jets, 2-1, in a shootout on March 1.
• Rasmus Ristolainen missed a fourth straight game with an upper-body injury and is now considered week to week.
Garnet Hathaway hasn't played in March as he recovers from a blindsided hit he took at the end of February.
• The Flyers have a back-to-back set this weekend when they visit the Stars on Saturday (2 p.m. ET/NBCSP) and Blackhawks on Sunday (3 p.m. ET/NBCSP).