herrmag
April-22nd-2008, 08:58 AM
As I repeatedly have posted, I am not at all superstitious. Having started this thread will in no way help the Caps to win tonight. Regardless, here it is. :D
Courtesy of: www.washingtoncaps.com
Link: http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=Preview&seas=20072008>ype=3&gnum=137
April 22 vs. Philadelphia Flyers at Verizon Center
Game 7, Eastern Conference quarterfinal series (series even, 3-3)
Time: 7:00 pm
TV: Comcast, TSN
Radio: WJFK 106.7 FM, WFED 1050 AM, XM
Pre-Game: Pre-Cap Podcast on www.WashingtonCaps.com at 3 p.m.
Washington Capitals (43-31-8, 94 points in regular season)
Philadelphia Flyers (42-29-11, 95 points in regular season)
Matchup
The last time the Caps came back from Philadelphia, they were down 3-1 in their best-of-seven series with the Flyers and in need of two wins – one in each city – to force a Game 7 on Tuesday in the District. Four days later, the Caps jet back to D.C. to get ready for that Game 7 date after their 4-2 comeback win evened the series in Philadelphia on Monday.
Washington will be playing its first Game 7 in almost 12 years, and the first Game 7 on Washington home ice since May 1, 1992.
Monday marked the first time in the series that the team that scored first did not win the game. Philly scored on each of its first two power play chances in the game to go up 2-0, but the resilient Capitals rebounded to win after being down by two for the second time in the series. The Capitals trailed Game 1 by a 4-2 count in the third period before they rallied for a 5-4 win.
While the Caps were trailing, Washington goaltender Cristobal Huet kept his team in the game with some key saves. Those stops would prove to be big ones later on.
Caps star left wing Alex Ovechkin scored a pair of third period goals – his first since Game 1 – to break a 2-2 deadlock and send the series back to Washington. Six games into their first ever Stanley Cup playoff series, each of Washington’s “Young Guns” – Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom – has three goals.
Washington poured 40 shots on Flyers goaltender Martin Biron in Game 6, the most the Caps have mustered in any regulation game in the series. After firing 13 shots on goal in the first four games of the series, Ovechkin has launched 15 on net in the last two tilts.
From the start of the series, Philadelphia coach John Stevens opted to put his top defensive duo of Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen out against Ovechkin’s line. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau countered by moving center Sergei Fedorov to Ovechkin’s line and moving Backstrom to a line with Semin and Brooks Laich.
As the series has gone deeper, the Backstrom line has begun to feel its legs. Semin has scored in three straight games, and he now leads the Caps in playoff scoring. Backstrom has a goal in three straight games. Laich has a point in each of the last four games, the longest scoring streak of his NHL career.
“We want to make sure we’re not too fancy in front of our home crowd,” says Laich, in discussing how the Caps must play if they are to win Game 7. “We want to keep it simple, and we saw tonight when we don’t play our way what happens and we saw what we can do when we do play our way. When we can get pucks below the goal line, and get on the body and initiate, take pucks to the net, I think we’re a hard team to defend. We want to be less risk and more simple plays that are productive for our forecheck.”
With its second line clicking and Ovechkin now finding the range as well, Stevens is starting to back off with a couple of his beleaguered veteran defenders.
Derian Hatcher averaged 21:06 during the regular season – third among Philly defenders – and 22:21 through the first five games of this series. Hatcher led all Flyers defenders with 8:11 in the first period of Game 6, but he was badly exposed on Washington’s second goal of the night, Semin’s game-tying tally. Hatcher logged just 4:31 in the third period.
Philly captain Jason Smith skated 16:47 in Game 5, and was cut down to 11:56 – six minutes less than his regular season average – in Game 6. Those are the lowest ice time totals Smith has logged in his six games in this series.
In their last nine periods of hockey in this series, the Flyers have totaled just two even-strength goals. One was Mike Knuble’s overtime game-winner in double-overtime of Game 4; Knuble is now sidelined for the series with a hamstring injury. Hatcher has the other even-strength strike during that span.
Both the Caps and the Flyers will be playing Game 7 on short rest; they’ll be playing for the second time in as many nights and for the third time in four days. Washington took the train to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4, but flew to Philly on Sunday for Monday’s Game 6. The Caps quickly flew home afterwards, hoping to maximize their rest before Tuesday’s tilt.
Finally, neither goaltender has had much experience at starting both games on back-to-back nights during the course of his NHL career.
Biron is 8-21-6 with a 3.30 goals against average and an .879 save pct. lifetime in the second of starts on back-to-back nights. He is 5-17-3 with a 3.52 goals against average and an .869 save pct. when the second of those back-to-back starts comes on the road.
Since the lockout, Biron is 2-7-1 with a 4.85 goals against average and an .845 save pct. in the second of starts on back-to-back nights. Biron’s most recent start in that situation came on Mar. 14 in Pittsburgh when he allowed three goals on eight shots in just 24 minutes of work in a 7-1 loss to the Penguins. His last win in the second of starts on back-to-back nights came seven starts ago, on Nov. 11, 2006.
COPY AND PASTE LINK AT TOP FOR REST OF ARTICLE........
Courtesy of: www.washingtoncaps.com
Link: http://capitals.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=Preview&seas=20072008>ype=3&gnum=137
April 22 vs. Philadelphia Flyers at Verizon Center
Game 7, Eastern Conference quarterfinal series (series even, 3-3)
Time: 7:00 pm
TV: Comcast, TSN
Radio: WJFK 106.7 FM, WFED 1050 AM, XM
Pre-Game: Pre-Cap Podcast on www.WashingtonCaps.com at 3 p.m.
Washington Capitals (43-31-8, 94 points in regular season)
Philadelphia Flyers (42-29-11, 95 points in regular season)
Matchup
The last time the Caps came back from Philadelphia, they were down 3-1 in their best-of-seven series with the Flyers and in need of two wins – one in each city – to force a Game 7 on Tuesday in the District. Four days later, the Caps jet back to D.C. to get ready for that Game 7 date after their 4-2 comeback win evened the series in Philadelphia on Monday.
Washington will be playing its first Game 7 in almost 12 years, and the first Game 7 on Washington home ice since May 1, 1992.
Monday marked the first time in the series that the team that scored first did not win the game. Philly scored on each of its first two power play chances in the game to go up 2-0, but the resilient Capitals rebounded to win after being down by two for the second time in the series. The Capitals trailed Game 1 by a 4-2 count in the third period before they rallied for a 5-4 win.
While the Caps were trailing, Washington goaltender Cristobal Huet kept his team in the game with some key saves. Those stops would prove to be big ones later on.
Caps star left wing Alex Ovechkin scored a pair of third period goals – his first since Game 1 – to break a 2-2 deadlock and send the series back to Washington. Six games into their first ever Stanley Cup playoff series, each of Washington’s “Young Guns” – Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom – has three goals.
Washington poured 40 shots on Flyers goaltender Martin Biron in Game 6, the most the Caps have mustered in any regulation game in the series. After firing 13 shots on goal in the first four games of the series, Ovechkin has launched 15 on net in the last two tilts.
From the start of the series, Philadelphia coach John Stevens opted to put his top defensive duo of Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen out against Ovechkin’s line. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau countered by moving center Sergei Fedorov to Ovechkin’s line and moving Backstrom to a line with Semin and Brooks Laich.
As the series has gone deeper, the Backstrom line has begun to feel its legs. Semin has scored in three straight games, and he now leads the Caps in playoff scoring. Backstrom has a goal in three straight games. Laich has a point in each of the last four games, the longest scoring streak of his NHL career.
“We want to make sure we’re not too fancy in front of our home crowd,” says Laich, in discussing how the Caps must play if they are to win Game 7. “We want to keep it simple, and we saw tonight when we don’t play our way what happens and we saw what we can do when we do play our way. When we can get pucks below the goal line, and get on the body and initiate, take pucks to the net, I think we’re a hard team to defend. We want to be less risk and more simple plays that are productive for our forecheck.”
With its second line clicking and Ovechkin now finding the range as well, Stevens is starting to back off with a couple of his beleaguered veteran defenders.
Derian Hatcher averaged 21:06 during the regular season – third among Philly defenders – and 22:21 through the first five games of this series. Hatcher led all Flyers defenders with 8:11 in the first period of Game 6, but he was badly exposed on Washington’s second goal of the night, Semin’s game-tying tally. Hatcher logged just 4:31 in the third period.
Philly captain Jason Smith skated 16:47 in Game 5, and was cut down to 11:56 – six minutes less than his regular season average – in Game 6. Those are the lowest ice time totals Smith has logged in his six games in this series.
In their last nine periods of hockey in this series, the Flyers have totaled just two even-strength goals. One was Mike Knuble’s overtime game-winner in double-overtime of Game 4; Knuble is now sidelined for the series with a hamstring injury. Hatcher has the other even-strength strike during that span.
Both the Caps and the Flyers will be playing Game 7 on short rest; they’ll be playing for the second time in as many nights and for the third time in four days. Washington took the train to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4, but flew to Philly on Sunday for Monday’s Game 6. The Caps quickly flew home afterwards, hoping to maximize their rest before Tuesday’s tilt.
Finally, neither goaltender has had much experience at starting both games on back-to-back nights during the course of his NHL career.
Biron is 8-21-6 with a 3.30 goals against average and an .879 save pct. lifetime in the second of starts on back-to-back nights. He is 5-17-3 with a 3.52 goals against average and an .869 save pct. when the second of those back-to-back starts comes on the road.
Since the lockout, Biron is 2-7-1 with a 4.85 goals against average and an .845 save pct. in the second of starts on back-to-back nights. Biron’s most recent start in that situation came on Mar. 14 in Pittsburgh when he allowed three goals on eight shots in just 24 minutes of work in a 7-1 loss to the Penguins. His last win in the second of starts on back-to-back nights came seven starts ago, on Nov. 11, 2006.
COPY AND PASTE LINK AT TOP FOR REST OF ARTICLE........