Ann 22008 NHL Playoffs - Round 1: Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers Game 1 REVIEW
April 12th 2008 17:09
High intensity edge-of-your-seats game ends with the Capitals first victory in their first playoff appearance in ten years
One word: Ovechkin
Last night, the Flyers kept a tight leash on the Russian superstar, not giving him space to breath. All it took was one moment of inattention in the final period's dying minutes, five seconds of mishandling the puck, for Alexander the Great to steal the puck from the Flyers' two defensemen and put in the winning goal.
The game's first period was blacked out by the Masters golf tournament, and so I can only comment on the other two periods. But first, I have to mention that so far, the tone the playoffs have been primarily set by the grinders instead of the players with skills. Indeed, after Pittsburgh's Gary Roberts, Montreal's Bryan Smolinski and Tom Kostopolous, it was enforcer/tough guy George Laraque, of all people, who opened the scoring for the Caps.
However, after that first goal, the Flyers took control of the game with a little help from the Caps defense and their goalie Cristobal Huet. On the first Flyers goal, Huet had no idea where the puck was. There was a Philly player parked right in front of his face, and the defense made no effort to push him. On the second goal, Huet showed that tendency to go down too early when he faces a shooter. Daniel Briθre was on a breakaway after exiting the penalty box, and Huet was on his knees a split-second before the shot came, leaving an opening at the top corner of the net. The third and fourth goals were both defensive errors as the Caps made a big no-no as they give the slot to Flyers sniper Vaclav Prospal. The fourth goal was a simple issue of man-marking. Briere was left completely alone at the side of the net on the power-play. He only had to shoot in an open net piece of cake.
The Capitals were disorganized through the whole second period, maybe a sign of playoff inexperience as skated around the ice, having their passes cut off by the Flyers, and flying as if they didn't have a gameplan. For awhile, they looked like chickens running around with their heads cut off while the Flyers controlled the game.
The third period had a lot of hitting as was expected. Someone should tell the Caps to calm down a bit because if this turns out to be a seven-games series (and it looks like it), they will be completely exhausted from all the physicality. You could say that it goes both ways, but the Flyers seemed a lot more calculating when they gave their hits.
Still, you've gotta admit the Caps' never-give-up attitude. Ovechkin kept yelling his support to the guys on the bench. Two goals by defensemen Mike Green put the game at 4-4. And with two minutes left, A.O. The Great ended the discussion. This why this team won 11 of their last 12 games.
Other games:
The New Jersey New York series is looking more and more like a battle between goaltenders as both Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist pull out miracle saves after miracle saves. Last night, Lundqvist was the victor as the Rangers beat the Devils 2-1. The Rangers lead the series 2-0.
Read the Ottawa Pittsburgh Game 2 review here.
In the Western Conference, the Minnesota Wild tied their series to 1-1 after a 3-2 OT win on the Colorado Avalanche
One word: Ovechkin
Last night, the Flyers kept a tight leash on the Russian superstar, not giving him space to breath. All it took was one moment of inattention in the final period's dying minutes, five seconds of mishandling the puck, for Alexander the Great to steal the puck from the Flyers' two defensemen and put in the winning goal.
The game's first period was blacked out by the Masters golf tournament, and so I can only comment on the other two periods. But first, I have to mention that so far, the tone the playoffs have been primarily set by the grinders instead of the players with skills. Indeed, after Pittsburgh's Gary Roberts, Montreal's Bryan Smolinski and Tom Kostopolous, it was enforcer/tough guy George Laraque, of all people, who opened the scoring for the Caps.
However, after that first goal, the Flyers took control of the game with a little help from the Caps defense and their goalie Cristobal Huet. On the first Flyers goal, Huet had no idea where the puck was. There was a Philly player parked right in front of his face, and the defense made no effort to push him. On the second goal, Huet showed that tendency to go down too early when he faces a shooter. Daniel Briθre was on a breakaway after exiting the penalty box, and Huet was on his knees a split-second before the shot came, leaving an opening at the top corner of the net. The third and fourth goals were both defensive errors as the Caps made a big no-no as they give the slot to Flyers sniper Vaclav Prospal. The fourth goal was a simple issue of man-marking. Briere was left completely alone at the side of the net on the power-play. He only had to shoot in an open net piece of cake.
The Capitals were disorganized through the whole second period, maybe a sign of playoff inexperience as skated around the ice, having their passes cut off by the Flyers, and flying as if they didn't have a gameplan. For awhile, they looked like chickens running around with their heads cut off while the Flyers controlled the game.
The third period had a lot of hitting as was expected. Someone should tell the Caps to calm down a bit because if this turns out to be a seven-games series (and it looks like it), they will be completely exhausted from all the physicality. You could say that it goes both ways, but the Flyers seemed a lot more calculating when they gave their hits.
Still, you've gotta admit the Caps' never-give-up attitude. Ovechkin kept yelling his support to the guys on the bench. Two goals by defensemen Mike Green put the game at 4-4. And with two minutes left, A.O. The Great ended the discussion. This why this team won 11 of their last 12 games.
Other games:
The New Jersey New York series is looking more and more like a battle between goaltenders as both Martin Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist pull out miracle saves after miracle saves. Last night, Lundqvist was the victor as the Rangers beat the Devils 2-1. The Rangers lead the series 2-0.
Read the Ottawa Pittsburgh Game 2 review here.
In the Western Conference, the Minnesota Wild tied their series to 1-1 after a 3-2 OT win on the Colorado Avalanche
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