This Date in Caps History - October 30

On October 30, 1996, the Capitals defeated the Philadelphia Flyers by a 4-2 score in front of 12,435 fans at USAir Arena.

Washington got on the board first when Todd Krygier scored his first of the season on a Capitals power play at 10:19. That was all the scoring for the period. The Flyers had nine shots on goal against Washington’s Jim Carey while the Caps countered with eight against Philadelphia netminder Garth Snow.

At 9:15 of the second period, Joe Juneau scored his second of the season. Juneau’s power play strike made it 2-0 for Washington. Caps defenseman Phil Housley assisted on the goal and the helper gave him 959 career points, pushing him up to fifth place all-time among NHL defensemen. With 5:17 left in the second, the Flyers’ Chris Therien beat Carey to pull the Flyers within a goal. The Caps outshot the Flyers 10-8 in the second period.

Philly’s John Leclair tied it at 3:23 of the third when he banged one home on the power play. With just 1:48 left in regulation, Washington’s Jason Allison - in the midst of an October hot streak - scored his fifth goal of the young season to restore the Capitals’ lead. Philly pulled Snow for an extra attacker, but Dale Hunter scored his third of the season - an empty-netter - at 19:41 to seal the Washington triumph. The Caps outshot Philly 10-8 in the third and 28-25 on the evening.

With a goal and an assist, Krygier was named first star. A solid defensive performance by Joe Reekie earned him the game’s second star and Philly’s Rod Brind ‘Amour took the third star on the strength of two assists.