Washington Capitals Must Stick To The Script

By Bradley Davis | Apr 23, 2016

Apr 22, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) skates with the puck as Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Mark Streit (32) chases in the third period in game five of the first round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. The Flyers won 2-0, and the Capitals lead the series 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

The Washington Capitals have dropped two straight games after being up 3-0 in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinals series with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Friday night’s 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers was a painful one to watch. The Washington Capitals were stonewalled by their former goaltender despite putting 44 shots on net and allowing just 11.

While many fans are panicking after years of watching the Capitals fail to get the job done, it is important to take a major step back and observe the situation from a logical view.

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Let’s start with this. The Washington Capitals still hold a 3-2 series lead, and have kept the Flyers on their heels for the past four periods of hockey. Yes, Michal Neuvirth has played literally out of his mind, but realistically he will not be stopping the type of offense that he saw last night for two more games.

Penalties are what essentially doomed the Washington Capitals last night. Though Philadelphia did not convert on the man advantage, the Capitals had eight minutes in minor penalties in the first period alone – six of those via Justin Williams, a typically pretty disciplined player.

When Washington wasn’t establishing similar dominance to what we have seen from their penalty kill all series long, they basically looked like they were on a power play for the entire game. To say the Flyers were geared down into to neutral would be an understatement; they were in reverse.

At the end of the day, hockey is a funny sport. Being quadrupled up in shots is something that you will hardly ever see in a playoff game. The only reason that the Flyers were even on the scoreboard was because of an unfortunate own goal, and then an empty-netter. You can bet that if this situation repeats itself on Sunday at noon, the Flyers will be run out of their own building en route to being eliminated in six games.

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Here’s the thing: The Washington Capitals are a much better hockey team that the Philadelphia Flyers. Until the third period, the Flyers top line – Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds – had been out for 17 even strength shot attempts against, and exactly zero shots for. You’re talking about three of the NHL’s more impressive talents being completely blanked in a potential elimination game for more than 40 minutes.

All the credit in the world should go to Neuvirth for the stand up job he did last night in saving his team’s behind. However, if the Washington Capitals are going to put the Flyers away, they are going to have to stick to their game the rest of the way.

As much as I love T.J. Oshie going after Brayden Schenn for his embarrassing spot in game four just ten seconds into the game, that is not the Capitals’ game. This event had nothing to do with the result, but the principle remains.

When Brooks Orpik was knocked out of the series in game three and Dmitry Orlov was lucky to not be paralyzed by a hit from behind not long after, the Washington Capitals continued to pile their revenge onto the scoreboard. That is how you win in the playoffs.

While there isn’t much you can do on a night like last night when absolutely nothing finds its way past the goaltender, you can continue that effort in the next game. If the Washington Capitals focus on that, rather than any other distraction or what has happened in the past, they will be just fine and probably take care of Philadelphia handily in game six.

One step in the right direction would be making a lineup change, and after watching Friday night’s effort, that could mean putting in either Michael Latta or Stanislav Galiev for Jason Chimera. Chimera has just two shots in this series, and the only real impact that he has had on this series was a 101-foot goal that was literally probably a once in a lifetime occurrence. Chimera’s mindless penalty for hitting from behind last night did the Capitals no favors.

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There is still little doubt that the Washington Capitals will find a way to win this series, and to do that, they must continue to do what has brought them success all year long. The shots will begin falling again.

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