And Now They're Dead

Join me, won't you, over at GDub's Puck Daddy blog to bid a heartfelt goodbye to the 2007-08 Philadelphia Flyers. Oh, and bring a tissue if you tear up as easily as the commentors over there.

The Caps And The Conference Finalists

ESPN.com's David Amber - who sure does love him some Top 10 lists - has thrown together a list of the Top 10 playoff games in team history for each of the four Conference Finalists. Not surprisingly, a few Caps games made the lists. And since, as a Caps fan, I am by definition masochistic, I present them to you so you can share in re-opening the wounds:

Penguins, Game #9. April 24, 1996: Game 4, Eastern Conference semifinals vs. Washington (3-2 quadruple OT win)

This game had a bit of everything. The wacky: In the second period, Lemieux was ejected for instigating a fight with the Caps' Todd Krygier. The weird: In the second overtime, Joe Juneau was stopped on a penalty shot by Ken Wreggett, who had replaced Tom Barrasso (who left early in the game with muscle spasms). The wild: After scoring the tying goal many hours earlier, Petr Nedved scored on the power play in the final minute of the fourth overtime. Nedved eluded a sliding Mark Tinordi and snapped a low, hard shot past Olaf Kolzig, who had already made 62 saves. The game was the fifth-longest in NHL history, with only a few thousand fans remaining from the sellout crowd in Washington. The Penguins would win the next two games to take the series in six.

Red Wings, Game #7. June 16, 1998: Game 4, Stanley Cup finals vs. Washington (4-1 win)

This game is memorable for a few reasons. First and foremost, it brought the Red Wings a second straight Stanley Cup. But the image that resonates most with many hockey fans is the sight of Steve Yzerman handing the Cup to wheelchair-bound Vladimir Konstantinov on the ice during the postgame celebration. The previous June, just six days after winning the Stanley Cup, Konstantinov, Slava Fetisov and team masseur Sergei Mnatsakanov were involved in a serious limousine accident that ended Konstantinov's career. The Wings rallied around their fallen defenseman throughout the 1998 season and on the night they won the Cup without him on the ice. The team made it clear he was not forgotten by helping Konstantinov do a victory lap with the Cup in his wheelchair and engraving his name (and Mnatsakanov's) on the Stanley Cup.

Flyers, Game #6. April 11, 1989: Game 5, Patrick Division semifinals vs. Washington (8-5 win)

Leading by two goals, shorthanded with just a minute to play in the game, Ron Hextall made NHL history again. Two seasons earlier, Hextall had become the first NHL goalie to score by shooting the puck into the opposing net during a regular-season game. In this game, the enigmatic 24-year-old became the first NHL goalie ever to score a playoff goal. With Caps goalie Pete Peeters pulled, Hextall corralled a Scott Stevens dump-in behind his net and, from his goal line, rifled a high shot that landed at the far blue line and slid into the corner of the Capitals' empty net. Though he allowed four goals on the first 23 shots he faced, Hextall picked up the win and a place in the NHL record books. The Flyers beat the Caps in six games.

Gut-wrenching, all of 'em... and one of these teams (hint: not Philly) is going to win yet another Cup in a couple of weeks. How depressing.

... And Then There Was Golf

Congrats to the Flyers and their fans.

Vengeance next year!

Game 7: Flyers @ Caps

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Super Stats - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame - AP Preview]

Yesterday I asked four questions (not the same ones we asked Saturday night, incidentally):

Could the Flyers keep Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin from adjusting their sites and finding the net for a big goal (or two... or three...) in Game Six?

They couldn't, and the pair scored the game-tying, game-winning and game-icing goals.

Could the Flyers continue to win games with production from basically one line?

They couldn't, as they could only muster a pair of power play goals, one by first-liner Danny Briere to keep the top line's goal-scoring clip at 50% of Philly's total.

Could the Flyers continue to win games with Martin Biron stopping less than 90% of the shots he's facing?

Biron actually saved exactly 90% of the shots he faced and was a wall for a period and a half, but his .857 save percentage over the game's final two periods proved insufficient.

Finally, could the Flyers sweep all three home games in the series by winning and ending the series?

They couldn't, and now they've got to come back to D.C. for Game Seven in the midst of the epic collapse we talked about on Friday and the Caps have now twice in the series erased two-goal deficits and gone on to win the games (Games One and Six), and, of course, have erased a two game series lead.

Some quick thoughts on Game Six:

• A couple of possible injuries to keep an eye on, most notably to Mike Green (which is potentially huge) and Tom Poti (who says he'll play tonight), but Eric Fehr may also have been nicked up. A Fehr injury would open the door for a Chris Clark "Willis Reed" moment... that won't happen.
• I feel like if I had a dime for every big save Cristobal Huet has made in the last three games, I could pay for tomorrow night's ticket with the change.
  
• You know the whole team's buying in when... Nicklas Backstrom has two hits, including one on Derian Hatcher.
• Ovechkin's line: two goals (including the game-winner), plus-one, nine shots on goal... no hits? Hmm.
• I now know why Biron holds up every glove save he makes for everyone in the arena to see - it's because he's the most surprised guy in the house that he made the stop.
  
• Semin and Backstrom have great chemistry. Ovechkin and Backstrom have great chemistry. My guess is that anyone and Backstrom would have great chemistry. Kid's legit (newsflash).
  
• Briere is back to his regular season ways, posting a minus-three rating.
  
• The Caps had 11 giveaways, the Flyers had 16.
  
• Philly won 57% of the draws on the night, with no Caps' pivot faring any better than 50% (Sergei Fedorov was 9-for-18).
• Steve Eminger and John Erskine were each plus-three. Erskine had five hits and each played more than 17:30. That's called raising your game.
• Great look at the Scottie Upshall dive (h/t grapejoos), and if the Caps win tonight, be prepared to see a lot of that head-snappin' action next series.
  
• Brooks Laich had a pair of assists, six shots on goal and an unlucky penalty. He continues to be un hombre con machismo.

So it's on to Game Seven at home.

Finally, you'll be seeing this a lot today, so enjoy it a time or two here as well:

Hey, Philly...

Ovechkin's back.

Game 6 Open Thread

Game 6: Caps @ Flyers

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

Before the puck dropped to start the third period of Saturday's Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series between the Caps and Flyers, and with the Caps holding a slim 2-1 lead, I turned to my dad and said, "The Flyers have nothing to lose right now - all the pressure is on the Caps to hold on to this lead. It wouldn't surprise me to see the Flyers come out real loose and dominate the third."

And that, of course, is exactly what happened (everywhere but on the scoreboard, that is).

Those roles now are completely reversed - all the pressure is on the Flyers to win at home tonight. And while the Caps still have something - something big - to lose, it's not going to be the guys in white who are gripping their sticks a little tighter than usual.

Can the Flyers keep Alex Ovechkin and Alex Semin - who are one-two in the playoffs in missed shots - from adjusting their sites and finding the net for a big goal (or two... or three...) in Game Six? They'd better hope so.

Can the Flyers continue to win games with production from basically one line (Philly's top line has accounted for half of their goals in the series while the Caps have gotten just 21% of their goals from their top unit)? They'd better hope so (or get some more help from a secondary source... and this is one place where the Mike Knuble injury hurts the Flyers so much).

Can the Flyers continue to win games with Martin Biron stopping less than 90% of the shots he's facing? They'd better hope so (or hope that Marty raises his game a bit).

Can the Flyers sweep all three home games in this series by winning tonight and ending the series? They'd better hope so... because they sure as hell don't want to come back to D.C. for a Game Seven.

The pressure's on, Philly. Can you feel it?

Sunday Open Thread

"Which way is it back to Philly?"

Game 5: Flyers @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

After losing Game 4 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series, the Caps had a choice - they could get busy livin' or get busy dyin'. Knowing these Caps, there was never a choice at all, and you can expect one of the team's best efforts of the season tomorrow afternoon at Verizon Center.

Thursday night was a turning point for these young Caps, whether it manifests itself in a win Saturday or not. But don't take my word for it - here's the boss:

Our team is bigger and tougher than the Flyers. They know it now and we know it now.

We now know how to play playoff hockey, NHL style.

From the top down, they're saying all the right things, and they believe every word of it.

In theory, at least, the mountain standing before the Caps at present isn't unscalable - win at home (where they were 23-15-3 this year), win in Philly with all the pressure in the world on the Flyers to close out the series at home (where, incidentally, the Caps have won four of their last six games), then come back home and finish the series with a victory over a similarly young team in the midst of an epic collapse.

In practice, of course, that's much easier said than done. Only twenty times in NHL history has a team come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-seven series (the Caps have been involved in four of those series, including 1988's comeback win against the Flyers) out of 219 such situations.

"Twenty?" defenceman Steve Eminger asked on Friday. "Why not 21?"

Indeed.

But win or lose, the Caps will look back on Thursday night as something of a coming of age. Win or lose, this Flyers team has provided the perfect playoff baptism for these Caps. They do a lot of what you need to do to win in the playoffs, and they've exposed precisely the "right" Caps weaknesses. Had the Caps met the Penguins or Canadiens in the first round and fallen short, they'd probably be able to convince themselves rather easily that they were out-skilled. But this Flyers team - through three games - showed the Caps that they were being out-worked and out-muscled. And come springtime in the NHL, it's those latter attributes that are the far more valuable to possess.

This series is far from over. Or perhaps the end is nigh. But coming back from a 3-1 deficit isn't impossible, despite that 20-for-219 number. To put that stat in apples-to-oranges perspective, the Beatles recorded 214 songs from 1962 to 1970 and had 20 Number One singles. In other words, the Caps have about as much chance of winning this series as Lennon/McCartney had of writing a chart-topping single in their prime.

Sounds pretty easy now, doesn't it?

DSB

Game 4 Recap

Game 4 Open Thread

"The media is wrong if they think we're satisfied, and the media is wrong when they think the series is over." - Bruce Boudreau
UPDATE: In case you missed it, Flyer fans have taken to telling their mothers what to do. Classy.

Game 4: Caps @ Flyers

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

I was going to call this post "The Audacity of Hope," but that title apparently was taken by some elitist or something.

Anyway, I'm going to make this short and sweet.

In the comments to OFB's tribute to Broadway morning post yesterday, b.orr4 pointed out that in the history of the NHL Playoffs in best-of-sevens in which the team without home ice advantage had a 2-1 heading into Game 4, that team has won just over 60% of the series, to which I responded by geeking out and quoting Han Solo ("Never tell me the odds").

But sixty percent? That's it?

Think about where the Caps have been this year. Take a look here and check out how many days all year the Caps' chances of making the playoffs were as good as 40%. Hell, as late as March 20, the Caps' chances of making the playoffs were just 17%... and we obviously all know how that turned out.

I've said ad nauseum that this team plays best with its back against the wall, which is where it is now. Couple that with the fact that they have been absolutely dominated and yet still "in" every game against a team they've beaten three times since Thanksgiving (twice on the road) and there's certainly - on paper - reason for measured optimism.

The Caps haven't played their best game yet, not by a long shot. The Flyers have. Probably twice.

Don't stop believin'.

Game 3 Recap: Flyers 6, Caps 3

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Super Stats - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame]

I'm not even sure where to start, so I'll just throw the burning question out there - have you ever in your life seen a team's offense, defense, goaltending and coaching all go to crap so quickly and at the same time? To paraphrase the late Herb Brooks, the Caps are playing worse every game and right now they're playing like the middle of next week.

And yet, with three minutes left (before Shaone Morrisonn got into the spirit of giving that plagued the defense all night), the Caps were just a single goal down. Which, if you think about it, is consistent with the series so far - the Caps have been absolutely dominated in just about every aspect of the game and yet were in each one until the very end and are down just two games to one.

Never before has the term "so close, and yet so far away" been more apt.

Feel free to comment on specifics - like the Caps, I think I may have expended nearly all of my physical, mental and emotional energy in the four months leading up to the playoffs.

Game 3 Open Thread

Back where it all began. Oh, and is this guy representative of those oh-so tough Flyers fans? Ooohhh... scary!

Game 3: Caps @ Flyers

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

I'm beginning to think I'm the only person in the hockey world not in awe of Martin Biron. Yes, the guy has three shutouts in his last four starts. But on Sunday, at least, he was the beneficiary of a great team defensive effort and a good bit of luck (his supporters will refer to this luck as "good positioning"). Was he good? Sure. Great? No. Good enough? That's all that matters, isn't it? But he's still the same Marty Biron that stopped just 22 of 27 shots on Friday night.

In fact, even with his Game 2 whitewash of the Caps, Biron has the third-worst save percentage in the playoffs. At the other end of the rink, Cristobal Huet - the source of some criticism for his performance so far - is a few percentage points ahead of Biron (but trails him by half a goal in GAA).

Two games is a small sample, to be sure, so let's take a look at the two netminders' performances thus far, goal by goal (for Game 1 video, click here, and for Game 2, click here). First, Biron:

• Game 1, Goal 1: Donald Brashear, even strength, wrist shot, 9 feet, previous shot attempt 29 seconds earlier; Tom Poti's shot/pass deflects to an open Brashear who deposits the puck in a gaping net
  
• Game 1, Goal 2: David Steckel, even strength, wrist shot, 19 feet, previous shot attempt six seconds earlier; Steckel finds himself open, Biron looks to be in position, but is beaten from a decent angle
  
• Game 1, Goal 3: Mike Green, even strength, wrist shot, 11 feet, previous shot attempt 45 seconds earlier; Alex Semin to Sergei Fedorov to Green past a helpless Biron
  
• Game 1, Goal 4: Mike Green, power play, slap shot, 44 feet, previous shot attempt six seconds earlier; with Patrick Thoreson writhing in pain, Green blows a slapper past Biron on what had become more or less a 5-on-3
  
• Game 1, Goal 5: Alexander Ovechkin, even strength, snap shot, 17 feet, previous shot attempt 49 seconds earlier; Red Jesus outwaits Biron and roofs it
  

And Huet:

• Game 1, Goal 1: Vaclav Prospal, even strength, snap shot, 58 feet, previous shot attempt before last faceoff; a seeing-eye puck beats Huet, who is completely screened by Scott Hartnell
  
• Game 1, Goal 2: Daniel Briere, even strength, snap shot, 40 feet, previous shot attempt before last faceoff; Briere exits the penalty box behind the Caps' D and beats Huet on a partial breakaway
  
• Game 1, Goal 3: Vaclav Prospal, even strength, wrist shot, 30 feet, previous shot attempt before last faceoff; the red sea parts for Prospal, leaving him with a golden opportunity that he buries
  
• Game 1, Goal 4: Daniel Briere, power play, wrist shot, 18 feet, previous shot attempt before last faceoff; with plenty of traffic around the crease Mike Richards finds Briere on a backdoor cut for a tap in
  
• Game 2, Goal 1: R.J. Umberger, even strength, wrist shot, 18 feet, previous shot attempt before last faceoff; John Erskine falls asleep, Umberger gets a breakaway and partially fans on his shot, sending a knuckler past Huet
  
• Game 2, Goal 2: Jeff Carter, even strength, wrist shot, 8 feet, previous shot attempt one second earlier; Mike Green coughs up the puck, Mike Knuble's initial shot isn't handled by Huet and Carter deposits the rebound
  

There's the raw data from the NHL's play-by-play feeds for the two games. The thing that jumps out at you right away, of course, is that there aren't any bullets under Biron's name that begin with "Game 2." Deeper than that, however, you notice immediately that Biron has only allowed one goal from more than 19 feet away, while Huet has allowed a trio of such tallies. Here are each of the goals in a tidy little graphic:


Which of these goals would Huet like back? I'd guess he isn't thrilled with allowing Briere's first in Game One, perhaps the Umberger goal and the rebound on Carter's goal. In other words a partial breakaway, a full breakaway and an odd-man rush.

As for Biron, I'm sure he'd love another chance at stopping Ovechkin, and can't be happy with the Steckel goal.

What's interesting is that Huet has been an absolute wall shorthanded, stopping 18 of the 19 shots (.947 SV%) he's seen on Flyers power plays, but has only an .884 save percentage at even strength - much of that can be attributed to breakdowns in the defense in front of him with the manpower level (I count four such instances). Biron has had a more even effort, with a .909/.892 split, in large part because the defense in front of him (with one incredibly glaring exception) hasn't made too many mistakes. The dreaded matchup entering the series - the Flyers' second-ranked power play against the Caps' 25th-ranked penalty kill - has yet to really burn the Caps and, contrary to what the regular season stats may have predicted, Philly has been the better team five-on-five.

The other notable stat is the shot disparity. Through two games, the Flyers have outshot the Caps 63-51. Now, that doesn't sound like much, but 12 shots against any goalie, statistically, is likely to yield a goal (11 saves on 12 shots against is a .917 save percentage). In a playoff series as tight as this one is expected to be, one extra goal over two games can certainly be the difference.

Further to that last point, the Caps have had 15:17 of power play time through two games, but have managed only 11 shots on goal. Philly has had 13:49 of extra man time and, as mentioned above, has fired 19 shots on Huet. The Caps have simply got to find a way to get pucks to the net on the power play.

Alright, bottom line time. It's no great secret that the Caps defense has been shaky so far, but if they can tighten up, there's every reason to believe that the Caps can get right back into the driver's seat in this series. Even if the defense makes a mistake or two, Huet is playing well enough to keep them in every game and hasn't yet come close to playing his best game of the series. Martin Biron, on the other hand, has had an unimpeded view of nearly every shot he has faced, and has been average... and he probably has already played his best game of the series.

A New Home Away From Home?

When they lost Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series with the Flyers yesterday, the Caps also lost home ice advantage, meaning that they'll need to win at least one game on the road if they're to win the series.

But that may not be as difficult a task as it sounds, given that the Caps haven't lost in the Wachovia Center in more than two years. Granted, this followed a 16-game winless streak in the building that spanned from March 5, 1998 through February 10, 2006, but the last four times the Caps have headed up I-95 to Philly, they've left town happy. A brief recap of the four games:

• November 4, 2006 - Caps 5, Flyers 3 (Alex Ovechkin two goals, including the game-winner)
• December 9, 2006 - Caps 5, Flyers 3 (Ovechkin with a goal and two assists)
  
• November 23, 2007 - Caps 4, Flyers 3 (OT) (Bruce Boudreau's first game as Caps head coach, Nicklas Backstrom GWG)
  
• February 6, 2008 - Caps 4, Flyers 3 (Ovechkin GWG)
  

In six career games in Philly, Alex Ovechkin has five goals, four assists and two game-winning goals, and the last Flyer netminder to beat the Caps at home was... Robert Esche. Point being, this team should know they can win in Philly - now they just need to go out and do it.

Finally, in what can only be seen as a good omen (unless you're a shareholder, that is), Wachovia today posted a "surprising" loss, in part due to the fact that the corporation "has... been hurt in its capital markets unit." So there's that.

Game 2 Recap: Flyers 2, Caps 0

[AP Recap - Game Summary - Super Stats - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame]

What was a positive for most of the sixty minutes of game time on Sunday - that despite being badly out-played and out-worked, the Caps were still within striking distance of the Flyers - quickly became a big negative thereafter, leaving Bruce Boudreau and his staff with fifty or so hours to try to turn things around after a series-tying loss that wasn't as close as the score.

Truth be told, through six periods of playoff hockey, the Caps have been the better team in just one of those stanzas. But as I've said before, this team struggles as a favorite and is at its best with its back against the proverbial wall, which is close to where they are right now (and that, my friends, is called putting lipstick on a pig).

A few thoughts on the game:

• The Caps had 18 giveaways. The Flyers had just seven. Jeff Schultz had a rough return to the lineup, with a game-high three giveaways, but the entire team seemed jittery all afternoon.
• Forty-one shots against in sixty minutes is wholly unacceptable. The last time the Caps allowed as many (and were outshot by a 17-shot margin) was in that egg they laid in Chicago on March 19 (which, incidentally, was their last loss).
  
• The power play was way too cute and tentative, and became increasingly so as the game progressed. Martin Biron rarely had any traffic in front of him, so even when the shots finally did come, they were usually pretty easy stops.
  
• At the other end of the ice, if the Caps' blueliners don't clear the front of the net and/or stick up for their netminder and the team goes 0-fer on the power play, expect the Flyers to keep running Cristobal Huet whenever they want.
• Related - I'm by no means advocating a change in goal, but you know that if Olie Kolzig was in net Sunday, there'd be a few Flyers with bruises on the backs of their legs.
• The Flyers obviously saw something on Friday night that led them to repeatedly try the homerun pass down the middle of the ice, and it was successful on the R.J. whooooooatahitbycampbell Umberger goal.
  
• Including the playoffs, the Caps are 15-5-1 with Steve Eminger in the lineup this season. Just sayin'.
• Encouraging stat alert: under Boudreau, the Caps were shut out four times during the regular season, and all four times they followed up the whitewash with a win.
• Mike Green followed up Friday night's brilliant third period with one of his worst performances of the year. Trying to beat two Flyer forwards without a pass? That's vintage Sergei Gonchar, and a reminder that Green is, well, green.
  
• Like Green, Alex Ovechkin tried to do too much by himself, which is partially his fault and partially the fault of his largely invisible linemates (the trio also was a combined minus-six on the night).
  
• It's too bad Matt Cooke isn't a finisher, because he had two unbelieveable opportunities to erase the goose egg on the scoreboard.
  
• Nicklas Backstrom threw an elbow at Mike Richards early in the third that went unnoticed (by the officials, at least).
• No more Tomas Fleischmann, please. He now has just two (admittedly huge) goals in his last 21 games, but continues to get a sweater and more minutes than Matt Bradley.
  
• The Caps' big faceoff advantage on Friday night disappeared on Sunday, with the Flyers winning 56% of the draws, including 13-for-22 (59%) in the offensive zone and 14-for-20 (70%) in the defensive zone. Like I said after Game 1, "that's a whole bunch of instant offense created and opposition chances that never get started." Unfortunately, this time that line applied to the Flyers.
  
• Further to that last point, Sergei Fedorov got owned in the dot, winning just eight of his 25 faceoffs on the night (32%). It was his worst night in the circle, percentage-wise, since January 5, and making matters even worse, he was a horrific 1-for-10 in the offensive zone. Oh, and think that when things get back to Philly that John Stevens may put Mike Richards out for important draws against the Caps' #91? The Flyers pivot is 10-for-14 (71%) against Fedorov through two games.

Bottom line: this is a best-of-seven series, not a best-of-Sunday series, so let's wait until at least Tuesday night before pressing the panic button... but keep it within reach - there has been enough about which to be discouraged through two games that it's warranted.

Game 1 Recap: Caps 5, Flyers 4

[AP Recap - WashingtonCaps.com Postgame]

Despite a fairly awesome arsenal of firepower, the Caps aren't exactly known as a team that's going to storm back from a third period deficit, much less a two-goal third period deficit. In fact, the Caps had the second fewest wins in the NHL when trailing after two periods this past season, and an abysmal 1-25-2 record in such situations (and last season wasn't much better at 2-36-3).

But entering the third period of last night's Game 1 of the Patrick Division Semifinals Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, that's exactly what the Caps had to do. And it's exactly what they did.

Some thoughts on the game:

• First and foremost, our thoughts are with Patrick Thoresen. Get well soon, kid (and kudos to everyone from Flyers bench boss John Stevens to the Flyers bloggers for not griping about the whistle not blowing).
• That building was loud. And red. Honestly, the Caps could have been playing Phoenix and there wouldn't have been any fewer visiting fans in the house - I'd bet that was the fewest Flyers fans ever at a Caps game in D.C./Maryland. Seriously.
  
• Once the Caps' weakside defensemen started pinching (i.e. in the third period), the Caps dominated.
• Danny Briere is a great villain. My guess is Number Eight will be welcomed similarly in the MegaBank Du Jour Center for Game 3.
  
• Better game to be at - last night's or Alex Ovechkin's four-goal game against Montreal?
• If the Caps can win Cristobal Huet's worst game since being acquired (statistically, at the very least) and one in which Ovie is shotless through two periods, they're in good shape... because Philly won't get that combination of events again.
• Despite the slow start, AO ended up with a fairly Ovie-like stat line: goal, assist, plus-one, three shots on goal, eight hits, one takeaway (I wonder when that was).
  
• For all the talk of Flyer physicality, the Caps out-hit their visitors 40-36, with AO, Matt Bradley and Matt Cooke leading the way with eight, seven and six hits, respectively.
• Speaking of Bradley, at what point in the last couple of months did I fall absolutely in love with his game?
• And speaking of Cooke, I've said it before and I'll say it again - every shift is a bad penalty waiting to happen. Some might question his interference call last night, but from where I was sitting it was an easy call to make (to use a Locker-ism), perhaps only because one of his teammates prevented the puck from getting to him and his target. That penalty aside, Cookie had a strong game.
  
• Part of Alex Ovechkin's failure to get going in the first two periods (offensively - he was hitting everything that moved) was due to Nicklas Backstrom's and Viktor Kozlov's play. Has Backstrom hit the wall? Was Kozzy a little intimidated? We should have a clearer answer to both questions on Sunday.
• One of the great mysteries of all time - we're talking Stonehenge here - is why Steve Eminger hasn't gotten more minutes over the past two years. I firmly believe that if Emmy had gotten 65 games this year, he'd be a legitimate fourth defenseman. But what do I know?
  
• Alex Semin had a very strong game, and his pass to Sergei Fedorov - a ten foot pass in traffic? - which Feds no-looked to Mike Green for the finish was one of the Caps' nicer three-way passing plays in some time.
• Mike Green. Damn. After leading the League's defensemen in goals this year and last night's nationally (in the two countries that matter) telecast coming-out party, is he officially no longer under the radar?
  
• The Caps dominated the faceoff circle (glad you're back, Stecks), winning 36 of 62 draws (58%). Caps pivots were 8-for-12 in the offensive zone and 16-for-23 at the other end of the ice - that's a whole bunch of instant offense created and opposition chances that never get started.
• Jaro Modry was minus-four on the night for the Flyers. The Caps scored four even-strength goals. You do the math.
• Tomas Fleischmann was the only Cap at minus-two or worse. If I'm Bruce Boudreau, I plug Eric Fehr in that spot for Game 2.
• Tom Poti - and not Green - led the team in ice time at just 24:23. Fantastic player management in what promises to be a physical and perhaps lengthy series.
• Some credit for Green's big game is owed to the return of his D-partner Shaone Morrisonn.
• I can't wrap this up without mentioning Donald Brashear, so consider him mentioned. Way to get it started, big fella.
  
• Finally, how about this brilliant picture of the game-winner by Ellen Blanchard of Off Wing Opinion?
  

Photo courtesy Off Wing Opinion
One down, fifteen to go. See you Sunday.

Welcome, Leafs Fans

I figure it's time to formally welcome all the Leafs fans who have hopped aboard the Caps bandwagon over the past few days (PPP, Chemmy and others) - there's always room for more in the battle of good versus evil (and feel free to snag and post the image above).

And Caps fans, throw some love back their way in PPP's Game 1 Open Thread.

Game 1: Flyers @ Caps

[AP Preview - WashingtonCaps.com Preview]

It's finally here. Not just Game 1 of the Caps/Flyers series, but the Caps' "next" playoff game.

1,827 days later, the Caps have another playoff game.

Let that soak in for a second.

Now think back just 141 days ago to November 22, 2007, Thanksgiving Day, a day that started like this and ended like this (with this, of course, in between).

One day later, the team was on its way after an overtime win in Philadelphia.

The Caps, to be sure, aren't "just happy to be here." They know their work is far from done. But considering what they - and we, the fans - have been through over the past five years, no one would find fault with basking in the moment just a little bit.

When the puck drops, however, all of that is forgotten, and the focus is on the task at hand. One period, one game, one series.... one Cup at a time.