Whether they liked it or not, the Flyers were forced into hoping for better bounces in Game 2 Saturday.
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Couturier went to the locker room favoring his shoulder.
When that happened, John Carlson scored on the power play and the Capitals locked down defensively to shut out the Flyers 2-0 Thursday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
UP: Laying it on the line – Despite Washington defenseman John Carlson’s tally on the power play late in the second period, the Flyers did a nice job with their penalty kill.
Jason Spezza returned to the postseason with a nifty goal and added an assist and Kari Lehtonen stopped 22 shots for his second career playoff shutout. The Capitals got an insurance goal from Jay Beagle, who scored at 16:36 of the third period. With a bunch of PKs, you have to rely on the goaltender quite a bit. But with the incredibly talented Datsyuk retiring after this playoff run it might give them an extra push in momentum and desire.
Washington’s penalty kill went four for four and frustrated the Flyers, who lost second-line center Sean Couturier to an upper-body injury in the second period. The team said he’d be evaluated Friday. “Go back to what you think works to get the win”.
As unstoppable as Ovechkin (19 power-play goals) looks at times from his usual spot in the left circle, he had one power-play goal in 14 playoff games past year when the Capitals clicked at 10.7 percent.
The Flyers were already assured of the second wild card in the Eastern Conference and a first-round clash with the Capitals in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Orpik was also called for two minor penalties in the first, putting the Caps under the gun when they weren’t generating much. The Caps are heavy favourites in this series and for good reason as they represent the best chance at a first round sweep and I think they get started the right way here with a big win at home against an overwhelmed Philly side. Unfortunately, he earned a roughing whistle in the process and took himself out of the game for the rest of regulation.
Carlson’s shot from the point deflected off Chris VandeVelde and found its way into the net.
“Obviously you’re going to have to find ways to beat him”, said Schenn. “It’s a pick-me-up to start us off”. The Flyers are no longer the “Broad Street Bullies”, although they will play hard – they will stick up for one another. “We were able to, in the second and third especially, just keep them to the outside and slow them down through the neutral zone”. It’s easier said than done.
The Flyers tried their best to generate traffic in front of the net, but it hardly mattered if the shots weren’t getting there. The Washington Capitals certainly needed that type of effort in the opening minutes of their playoff matchup against the Philadelphia Flyers.
“You want to focus on your game and your system”, defenseman Mark Streit said. We had good structure in every part of the ice.
This is despite the fact that the Washington Capitals are easily a much deeper team than the Flyers.
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“I don’t know if that’s the right thing”, Hextall said. Washington RW T.J. Oshie, who was hit by a puck in practice Wednesday, was in the lineup. Fans at Verizon Center observed a moment of silence for Flyers owner Ed Snider, who died Monday at the age of 83 after a two-year battle with bladder cancer.
