In a March 30 game against the Capitals, which proved to be a playoff preview, Couturier spent 80.4 percent of his even-strength time on the ice with Ovechkin to shut him down, according to Jeff Neiburg of CSNPhilly.com.
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With a ideal penalty-killing effort and a power-play goal by John Carlson, the Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-0 in Game 1 of their first-round series. “I think when Whitey (Ryan White) takes a boarding penalty, those are the ones you can kill off”. They had no trouble shifting into stifling playoff mode, and limited the Flyers to just eight shots on goal in the final 40 minutes.
“I thought we managed the puck and I thought we were able execute out of the zone, I thought we were able to get a forecheck, I thought we just had good structure in every part of the ice”, said Capitals coach Barry Trotz.
Flyers center Sean Couturier could do nothing but attempt to brace himself when he saw Washington Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin barreling toward him. The officials conferred briefly and Manning was sent to the box for delay of game at 16:02. As for opponents he would worry about for the Caps Craig said “to me the East is the Caps I’m not really anxious about anyone else, to me the challenge is the bigger teams in the West”. “I see us getting stronger”.
On the Flyers’ side, Wayne Simmonds’ 59 power-play goals since 2011-12, many of them from in front of the net, rank third in the League.
“The standings are the same (in the playoffs) and it’s about the first team to get to four in a series”, Trotz said following his team’s morning skate at their suburban practice facility.
Jones: Well, goaltending is everything, and Holtby is not exempt from that. He’s not an easy guy to replace but guys have stepped up this year when we needed them.
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. There were no other updates after the game.
The EA SPORTS Stanley Cup Playoff Simulation is conducted in-game using EA SPORTS NHL 16 and real-life data from NHL players and teams.
As the instigator of the fight, Simmonds may miss more time in the series. “If they key on me a little more, that just means my teammates are more open”. “That was a tough hard hockey game”, Hakstol said. “If we need to fill that spot, we will take a look at a couple of different things, including Brayden”. The Flyers came up empty on all three of their first-period power plays, a combination of their own miscues, blocked shots and Holtby.
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MacLellan said that a number of Flames veterans, including defenseman Jamie Macoun, kept the team loose as the pressure mounted. Best way to avoid complications here is to play smart positional hockey, and keep the feet moving. Orpik was also called for two minor penalties in the first, putting the Caps under the gun when they weren’t generating much. But by doing so, he played right into Tom Wilson’s game plan. Elliott had been 6-0 with a 1.34 goals-against average, .946 save percentage and three shutouts since returning from a lower body injury. Philadelphia scratches included C Jordan Weal, C R.J. Umberger, LW Scott Naughton and D Evgeny Medvedev.
