The Flyers’ season was over, Game 6 of their playoff series against the Washington Capitals not unlike the first five.
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On a Capitals power play midway through the third, Neuvirth made another stand and always looked in control while facing an onslaught.
The last time the Flyers earned a playoff shutout was in 2010, when they defeated the Bruins in the conference semifinals of a series they trailed 3-0 before winning four straight. In his second playoff game, in the jersey of the orange half of Pennsylvania, Neuvirth stopped all 44 shots that were sent on his net, achieving an nearly inconceivable shutout against Ovechkin and his goal hungry crew of Caps skaters.
“We’re going to be better off for this next year”, Wayne Simmonds would say.
The Flyers scored just six goals in the six-game series.
Kane, who led the National Hockey League in scoring with 106 points, circled the net to corral his own shot that slowly slid wide, and poked it past Brian Elliott at 3:07 to send a standing-room crowd of 19,956 home unhappy. Washington has suffered back-to-back regulation losses for the first time all season, and its fans likely are experiencing a case of postseason deja vu.
Jared Spuregon scored two of Minnesota’s four third-period goals and the Wild came within a fraction of an inch of tying it with 34 seconds remaining when Nino Niederreiter whacked at a loose puck in the crease.
The Presidents’ Trophy winners held a three-game lead and were in position to close out its first sweep of an opponent in a best-of-seven series in franchise history on Monday.
The Capitals found themselves in a Game 6 that they absolutely should not have been in. Ovechkin and Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby each had a hat trick in the second game of the series. Blowing a 3-0 series lead was about to be added to the disgusting list of 3-1, 2-0, 2-0 and 3-1 since 2009 alone.
It was scored 8:59 into the second period, snapping a 106:21 shutout streak for Philadelphia goalie Michal Neuvirth dating back to the fourth game of the series.
The day after the regular season ended and two days after the Flyers clinched a playoff spot, the team’s only owner in team history, Ed Snider, passed away after a battle with cancer, fueling the team even more as playoffs started.
Even after Couturier left, Ovechkin’s reign of terror as a powerful hitter went on. “I’ve played here for five years and I knew a lot of things about him”.
On the season, the Flyers are averaging 2.6 goals and ranking 12th in power play with 18.9 percent.
“We just had to find a way to get a goal on the power play”, Flyers captain Claude Giroux said.
“It’s a great game by him from start to finish”, Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said.
Describing what that second period was like, White said, “We were just trying to get out of it”. “He made some key saves in the last couple games and early, especially on our 5-on-3”. Then in Game 5 he was more than solid.
“I think it gives everyone taste of what playoffs are like and how this building is during the playoffs and how much fun it is”, Schenn said.
The Capitals came into this game with ferocity, and the Flyers responded with physicality.
Freeze-frame replays showed the puck in the net, but officials ruled it was not quite fully across the goal line.
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“It’s huge”, Jake Voracek said.
