The Philadelphia Flyers vs. Washington Capitals series was predicted to be a short one, but the pesky Flyers pushed the series to the penultimate game, losing the series 4-2. After three straight wins by Washington, Philadelphia avoided an embarrassing sweep to the Presidents’ Trophy winners after winning games four and five in front of hot goaltending, and they are able to move forward with their heads held high. After previewing the series, LWOS looks back at the predictions, and reviews how they affected the gruelling first round series.

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Washington Capitals Series Recap

Momentum A Major Theme

The Flyers flew into the playoffs winning 15 of their final 23 games, and played most of those games with a playoff-type intensity. Many thought the Flyers could have used that momentum to start the series hot, but instead, the Capitals stopped them in their tracks. The Flyers went cold at the Verizon Center in the first two games, and they found the back of the net for the first time only ten minutes into the second period of game two.

The Capitals used the Flyers lack of momentum-building to increase their power throughout the series. The Capitals won the opening game by a slim margin of 2-0, and it seemed like the Flyers could make it a good hockey series. But the Capitals quickly nullified the Flyers positive play by winning 4-1 in game two, and taking game three at the Wells Fargo Center by a massacre of 6-1. They just kept on getting better and better throughout the first three games, and were poised for a sweep, but Michal Neuvirth had other plans.

Neuvrith won the starting job from Mason after game three and salvaged the Flyers season with a 2-1 win in game four, and a shutout in game five. Too many times do playoff series see a goalie change and a complete momentum shift, and that’s almost what the Capitals experienced here. The former Capitals netminder allowed 2 goals on 105 shots, including 44 stops in his game five shutout. His performance was reminiscent of Jaroslav’s Halak performances in the 2010 playoffs that sank the Capitals in the first round. The Flyers built on the momentum from Neuvirth and it carried them through game six, but unfortunately they were not able to finish the job off.

Washington Capitalized on Mistakes

It was said before the series that Washington will need to pounce on mistakes from the Flyers, and they did exactly that. With four of the six games decided by margins of two goals or less, and all of those games featuring three or less goals, goals were at a premium, and both teams made their opponents mistakes hurt.

The biggest gaff of the series was Mason’s 200-foot goal-against in game two and the Capitals used that blunder to get inside his head, as they lit him up the following game. Outside of the game two and three 10-2 aggregate score by the Capitals, the Flyers held the fort well, but the Capitals found the gaps and capitalized. That’s how a team wins in the playoffs.

The Flyers were able to steal game five off a lucky bounce, when a Ryan White shot deflected off Taylor Chorney’s skate and in. That proved to be the winning goal, and the Capitals sure would have wanted that one back.

The Capitals need to apply this same mentality in what should be a tight second-round series.

Discipline Played a Huge Role

As predicted, discipline was a key factor in this series. The young Flyers gave the Capitals 27 powerplay opportunities, and the veteran Capitals replied by scoring 8 of their 14 goals in the powerplay. Washington would have only won games two and six without their powerplay goals, as the other two games had winning goals scored with the man-advantage.

The Flyers clearly lost their cool and were just undone by the mightier Capitals. They tried to be like the Broad Street Bullies in the 1970s, but like Larry Robinson and the Montreal Canadiens in 1976, Alex Ovechkin showed that playing hard-nosed hockey isn’t always the solution. Ovechkin alone scored two of three goals in the series on the powerplay.

The Flyers did well to kill all ten powerplays in the final three games, but their sloppy defending in the first three games was their ultimate downfall. Moving forward, the Flyers will need to learn to keep their emotions in check during a long, seven-game series.

The best is yet to come for the Capitals, and their skill will be tested in the Metropolitan Division Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins. As Bob Cole says, that one should be a dandy.

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