The Washington Capitals took a commanding 2-0 series lead in the first round Stanley Cup playoff over the Philadelphia Flyers this evening, defeating the Flyers 4-1.
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What this means for the Capitals: They have firm control of the series after winning the first two games on home ice, but have blown a 2-0 series lead six times.
After a physical Game 1, the Washington Capitals came in to Game 2 expecting nothing less from the Philadelphia Flyers, except maybe that they would ratchet the hitting, antagonizing and overall agitating up even another notch. The Capitals got the first great scoring chance, Nicklas Backstrom passed the puck behind Steve Mason to Alex Ovechkin who choked the shot and sent it wide. The Washington Capitals went 2-2 with the man advantage, making them 3-9 for the series.
The Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers play game three of their series Monday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Philadelphia pulled within a goal midway through the second period by way of a Jakub Voracek goal, but that was the only shot that beat Holtby over 60 minutes.
Referees Dave Jackson and Kelly Sutherland did it again in the second period, blowing play dead when the wrong team was in possession of the puck. They were going to be up against it as is, but now you are losing a key guy in a really prominent defensive role against a ridiculous offensive team. “He’ll come back with a good game”.
“I thought our power play was pretty good tonight”, Hakstol said. “We’ll have to be extra prepared next game because National Hockey League goaltenders are mentally tough”. His high in a game settled in regulation is 44 in a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins on April 19, 2012.In an overtime game, his high is 47, recorded in a 2-1 triple-overtime loss to the New York Rangers on May 2, 2012.
Replacing Sean Couturier was going to take more than a one-man army.
“Weird bounces like that…I feel for him”.
Johnson had 13 goals in 26 playoff games past year. The solid performance by the 37-year-old goaltender included a pair of big stops on Tavares during a power play for NY early in the third. The Capitals also showed no fear of Wayne Simmonds getting the puck to the left of the goal line and then swinging across to attempt a close-range shot or pass to a teammate; a frequently tried strategy with a low success rate.
The Capitals have scored on 3 of 8 power-play tries, while the Flyers are scoreless in seven power-play chances. The NHL’s all-time playoff save percentage leader made 19 saves in the first period, the same amount he had in the entire opener.
Oh yes, the battle is on for every little inch in the tight first-round playoff series. According to Trotz, the team’s struggles last spring sparked a concentrated effort at tweaking its power-play setup, in games as well as between them, to counter whatever opposing penalty killers throw its way. If they can generate that many shots, they will score enough to be a factor in the series.
“He didn’t make any mistakes”, Ruff said after the 4-0 win for the top-seeded Stars.
Washington retaliated with its expertise: Ovechkin on the power play, by himself in the circle at 17:21 of the second.
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Capitals goalie Braden Holtby was the first person to sympathize with Mason over his flueky goal.
