Capitals, Flyers, Avalanche handling injury woes differently

By STEPHEN WHYNO
AP Hockey Writer

A handful of NHL teams are dealing with significant injury issues in the first part of the season. Leading the way are the Flyers, Capitals and reigning Stanley Cup champion Avalanche. Those three teams have very different sets of expectations going into the year from a rebuild in Philadelphia to the playoffs in Washington and a repeat bid in Colorado. They’ve also handled this adversity differently. Unsurprisingly the Avalanche have enjoyed the most success while missing captain Gabriel Landeskog and others. The Capitals are just trying to tread water until players like Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom can return.