Series Preview

This is perhaps the most difficult series to predict in the East because both teams are so evenly matched. The Caps and Flyers met four times and went 2-2 against each other during the regular season, and we should expect a similarly close series between these former Patrick Division rivals.

The Flyers are going to try and assert their presence by playing the same physical force that got them here. The Capitals throw the body around a little less, but they are a big team loaded with grit that won’t back down from confrontation. Both teams can skate, but Washington is slightly fleeter afoot. Don’t be surprised to see this series go six or seven games.

In the end, Washington has so much momentum that it’s hard to see them losing this series, particularly with home-ice advantage in their favor. Much of the focus will be on Alex Ovechkin and whether or not he can continue to play at such a high level in the playoffs.

The Flyers are going to try and get physical with Ovechkin. They will attempt to neutralize him by sending multiple defenders and looks his way. Of course, teams have been doing this all year and it hasn't worked yet. Additionally, the Russian phenom has proven thus far to be the type who elevates his game when the pressure is on, as evidenced by his 11 game-winning goals.

Prediction – Capitals in Six

Game One
Capitals 5, Flyers 4

Why the Capitals won: The Capitals offensive weaponry was largely held in check through the first two frames. Then, the talented goal scorers took over in the third. Mike Green twice to tie the game at four and Alexander Ovechkin sealed the deal to complete the Capitals comeback.

Why the Flyers lost: The Flyers blew too many assignments in their own zone. If they can’t be mentally sharper without the puck going forward, they will continue to get burned by Washington’s skilled forwards.

Key Play of the Game: With under five minutes remaining in the third period, Ovechkin stole the puck in the Philadelphia end, faked out Martin Biron and buried it top shelf. The goal, which gave the Capitals a 5-4 lead they would not relinquish, sent the Washington faithful into a frenzy.

What’s Next: Philadelphia was 30-1 in the regular season when leading after two periods and appeared to have this one in the bag after scoring three goals in a four-minute span. The third-period comeback has the Capitals and their fans fired up heading into Sunday. Meanwhile, the inexperienced Flyers will need short memories if they hope to escape D.C. with a win.

Game Two
Flyers 2, Capitals 0

Why the Flyers won: Credit head coach John Stevens for having the Flyers extremely well prepared for game two. They were defensively disciplined in shutting down the Capitals power play and preventing their forwards from getting any open space. Also, Martin Biron was unbeatable and made numerous momentum-changing saves.

Why the Capitals lost: The Capitals were out-coached and outworked Sunday. Bruce Boudreau failed to devise a way to get around Philadelphia’s big bodies in the neutral zone. Meanwhile, a couple defensive miscues by the Caps along the blueline allowed the Flyers to jump ahead early.

Key play of the game: Early in the first, Flyers D Braydon Coburn ripped a pass through the neutral zone to R.J. Umberger, who split the defense and beat Cristobal Huet with a wrister. The goal robbed the Washington crowd of its energy and shifted the momentum in favor of the Flyers.

What’s Next: Philadelphia made the adjustments necessary to throw a wrench into Washington’s offensive machine. Expect Boudreau and his staff to press some buttons of their own prior to game three in Philadelphia. Buckle up fans, because this series is shaping up to go six games or more.

Game Three
Flyers 6, Capitals 3

Why the Flyers won: The Flyers have completely shut down Alex Ovechkin over the last two games. They defensively suffocated Washington’s entire attack again Monday, getting bodies in front of every Washington shot and keeping everything to the outside. Meanwhile, Daniel Briere and his speedy linemates have torched the undisciplined Washington defense.

Why the Capitals lost: The Capitals blueliners were badly exposed in game three. All six defensemen seemed to commit one turnover after another while none physically stood up to Philadelphia’s big forwards. As a team, they appeared to lack the toughness or energy to hang with the Flyers.

Key play of the game: With just nine seconds remaining in period two and the Flyers on the power play, Mike Richards whipped a cross-ice pass to a wide open Daniel Briere who put the Flyers ahead 4-2. The goal gave the Flyers and their fans all the momentum they needed to carry them through the rest of the evening.

What’s next: The Flyers have looked like a far superior team for two consecutive games now, and it’s beginning to look they are simply the better team. The Capitals still haven’t learned to take care of the puck, and it has led to constant odd-man rushes the other way. Washington needs some modicum of grit and hockey smarts to be able to win this series. Right now, they don’t appear to have it.

Game Four
Flyers 4, Capitals 3 (2OT)

Why the Flyers Won: They have so many talented forwards who can score, and of whom are playing their best hockey when it counts most. Daniel Briere scored his playoff-leading fifth goal on the power play to tie it up in the third period. The way he has torched Washington through the first four games is becoming eerily reminiscent of what Martin St. Louis did to the Caps back in 2003. Their other weapons came up big as well — Jeff Carter scored twice tonight and Mike Knuble drove a stake into the Capitals’ heart to win it in overtime. This game really could’ve gone either way, but it seemed Philadelphia had more gas left in the tank in the second OT. Give Martin Biron credit as well for standing tall early in the first OT when he stonewalled the Capitals on two excellent chances.

Why the Capitals Lost: For the first sixty minutes the Capitals arguably looked like the stronger team, particularly in five-on-five situations. It was the little things that prevented them from finishing off the Flyers in regulation. Boudreau and his team were twice whistled for “too many men on the ice” minors, the second of which resulted in Briere’s game-tying goal. Then there was Alexander Ovechkin’s chance in the third, where he had a wide-open net yawning at him but couldn’t settle a bouncing puck. If the Capitals go on to lose to the Flyers, that play will likely be the lasting image of this series in which Ovechkin has not been himself. By the start of the second OT the Capitals appeared to be completely spent, which is understandable considering the level of intensity they have had to play with throughout the previous month and the physical nature of this series. Maybe they’re just tired.

Key Moment: The Flyers were grinding the Capitals into the boards throughout the second OT, tiring out the Washington skaters. This led to lots of weak clearing attempts, and the Flyers did a great job along the blueline to keep the puck in the zone. At the 6:40 mark Carter, Scottie Upshall and Mike Knuble were cycling the puck down low when Carter fed a pass from behind the net to Knuble, who snuck in from the circles to collect the puck. Knuble’s first attempt was denied by Huet (who played absolutely out of his mind tonight) but his second bid found the back of the net.

What’s Next: Philadelphia is now firmly entrenched in the driver’s seat with a 3-1 series lead. While the Capitals have thrived on adversity all season long, winning three consecutive games against a team as talented as the Flyers is a lot to ask. The silver lining for Washington is that they played their best game of the series by far Thursday night, so they don’t have a lot of adjustments to make before Saturday’s must-win game. Also, two of the final three games would be played in D.C. if the Capitals can somehow push it to a game seven.

Game Five
Capitals 3, Flyers 2

Why the Capitals won: Much like game four, Sunday’s contest really could have gone either way. However, for a majority of the first two periods the Capitals completely smothered the Flyers’ attack and generated plenty of scoring chances of their own. After building up a 2-0 lead they were able to hang on despite being outplayed in the third. Second-line forward Alexander Semin, who has really stepped up his play since the series shifted to Philadelphia, continually terrorized the Flyers defense in game five.

Why the Flyers lost: After being thoroughly outplayed for the first half of the game, the Flyers pressured the Caps relentlessly in period three but just came up short. They were whistled for a string of minor penalties late in the final frame which led to Semin’s game-winner. Being short-handed for that long also cost them valuable time on the attack.

Key play of the game: Nursing a one-goal lead with under six minutes remaining, the Capitals once again found themselves on the power play, and Semin delivered big. The Russian sniper skated between the circles and fired a gorgeous wrister over the shoulder of Martin Biron to give the home team a much-needed insurance tally. There was no way Biron could’ve seen the puck, as Brooks Laich, Mike Green and Alexander Ovechkin were causing havock in front of his cage.

What’s Next: It took the Capitals three games, but they have finally adjusted to the intensity of the playoff hockey. It may still be too late for Washington since these two teams are so evenly matched and they have to win twice in a row. Philadelphia has a good chance to close this series Monday night on home ice, but if they don’t, all bets are off for game seven.

Game Six
Capitals 4, Flyers 2

Why the Capitals won: The Capitals once again displayed amazing resiliency after falling behind 2-0 Monday night. Following the Daniel Briere goal in the second period the Flyers appeared poised to bury Alex Ovechkin and his teammates at long last. Then, for the first time in the series, the Capitals began finding room to maneuver in open ice and the floodgates opened. Forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin tied the score in a hurry to close out the middle stanza. Then, in the third period, Ovechkin completely took over the game with two tallies to complete the furious comeback.

Why the Flyers lost: After Briere put the home team ahead 2-0, the Flyers looked completely disjointed in even strength for the duration of the night. They started losing the little battles and began to give the Washington forwards room to operate. It came back to haunt them late in the second period when the Semin-Backstrom-Laich line mercilessly cycled the puck around Martin Biron’s crease, leading to Semin’s game-tying goal. The Flyers never looked right after that. Kimmo Timonen lost track of Ovechkin far too often in the final period, and once the home team failed to convert on a five-on-three opportunity, they were done.

Key play of the game: The Capitals had siezed the momentum late in the second period when Joel Erskine sent a heavy slapper through traffic to Martin Biron’s glove. Biron lost control of the puck and the rebound went directly to a wide-open Semin, who easily roofed the puck past the sprawled out netminder. The goal ripped away any momentum the Flyers and their fans might have had.

What’s next: The Flyers have put themselves in a position where they have to beat the streaking Capitals in Washington Tuesday, where the “red-out” is sure to be in full effect. This series has been wildly unpredictable through six games, and we should expect more surprises in game seven. Still, the money has to be on the Capitals, who will have the momentum and the home ice on their side in game seven.

Game Seven
Flyers 3, Capitals 2

Why the Flyers won: The Flyers mighty power play unit once again displayed an uncanny ability to stop Washington’s clearing attempts and keep the puck in the zone in game seven. They scored two power play goals including the overtime game winner on the man-power advantage to send the Capitals packing and move onto the second round. The Flyers were also able to lean on Martin Biron, who calmly turned away a furious third period onslaught.

Why the Capitals lost: Yes, the Capitals were the victim of some questionable calls, but that’s hockey. The fact is that the home team out-shot the Flyers 16-5 in the third period. They needed to find a way to slip one past goaltender Martin Biron in the final minutes. Instead they allowed the game to spill into overtime, which is usually a complete crapshoot.

Key play of the game: Slippery forward Joffrey Lupul turned out to be the hero for the Flyers in OT. Goaltender Cristobal Huet kicked out the pad to stop Kimmo Timonen’s shot, but the rebound caromed to Lupul who buried it with nine seconds remaining on Tom Poti’s tripping minor.

What’s Next: The Flyers will celebrate Tuesday night before they ready to face the top-seeded Montreal Canadiens. They should be recognized as legitamate contenders after playing excellent hockey against a tough opponent in this thrilling first-round matchup with the Capitals. One has to wonder if Mike Richards, Daniel Briere and the gang will have anything left in the tank after such a brutal series. Fortunately for them, the Canadiens also had to endure a seven game gauntlet with the scrappy Boston Bruins. We should expect another six or seven game battle in that second-round clash.

For the Capitals, the dissapointment of falling short in their comeback bid will linger for a few weeks and perhaps longer. Once they’ve had time to digest it all, they’ll understand what a great learning experience this series was for such an inexperienced group. As well as the Capitals played down the stretch in the regular season, they found a way to wratchet their game up to yet another level. Unfortunately for Boudreau’s young team, it took them until game four to adjust to the playoff learning curve. Now the off-season begins, and perhaps they add a tough, veteran blue-liner and re-sign some of their mid-season acquisitions. Whatever happens this summer, the Capitals figure to have a very good chance to contend for the Stanley Cup in 2009 and beyond.

Both the Capitals and the Flyers are stacked with young talent and figure to be major players in the Eastern Conference for the forseeable future. If this series was any indication, we may be in for many more exciting playoff meetings between these two rivals.