1st-round preview: Capitals looking to remain mighty vs. pesky Flyers
The Washington Capitals stormed out of the gate this season and never looked back, collecting their sixth division title in the last nine years.
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With the regular season behind them they now take their fight to the postseason. A first-place finish in the Eastern Conference has pinned them against the Philadelphia Flyers an opponent that got the upper-hand in their last postseason meeting in 2008.
The Flyers will be no pushover this time around either, as the team managed to split the season series against the Capitals.
Alex Ovechkin continues to score at will and Braden Holtby just tied an NHL record, Flyers will need to push back and push back hard if they stand a fighting chance against the beast of the East.
Tale of the Tape
| Capitals | Statistic | Flyers |
|---|---|---|
| 120 | Points | 96 |
| 3.02 (2nd) | Goals per game | 2.57 (22nd) |
| 2.33 (2nd) | Goals against | 2.56 (12) |
| 21.9% (5th) | Power play | 18.9% (11th) |
| 85.2% (2nd) | Penalty kill | 90.5% (20th) |
| 51% (14th) | Corsi | 50.6% (16th) |
| 8.3% (3rd) | 5-on-5 SH% | 7.1% (21st) |
| 92.9% (11th) | 5-on-5 SV% | 93.4% (1st) |
| Kuznetsov: 77 | Leading scorer | Giroux: 67 |
Key Players
Evgeny Kuznetsov
Ovechkin will enter the postseason with a near point per game resume in playoff games and we shouldn't expect much less from the team's captain this time around.
So what will be key for the Capitals - as they look to prove this season's monstrous regular season was no fluke - is secondary scoring.
Though Evgeny Kuznetsov's production was far from secondary this season -leading the team with 57 assists and 77 points - the 23-year-old still largely occupies the team's second line.
Kuznetsov really began to turn heads last season once the playoffs began. After a mediocre regular season saw him amass just 11 goals and 37 points, he shared the team lead with five goals in the postseason.
He finished behind only Oveckin and Nicklas Backstrom on the team with 18 power play points and tied for the most overtime markers this season. He is young, but if he can once again elevate his game like he did last playoffs, he could be what makes the Capitals offense too much to handle.
Steve Mason
Steve Mason's playoff resume is short.
While the 27-year-old has 405 regular season games to his credit, his playoff workload includes just nine games.
In his two separate postseason appearances, Mason has failed to make it out of the first round. His first taste coming with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009 saw him rack up a dismal .878 save percentage and a 4.27 goals-against average.
However, turn the clocks ahead five years and his second instalment fared much better. In five games with the Flyers in 2014 Mason did all he could constructing a .939 save percentage and a 1.97 goals-against average.
The Flyers managed just the 24th most goals for this season so simply put, the pressure will be on for the team to keep the puck out.
The key will be what kind of Steve Mason will we see in the postseason, the 2009 edition or the much more impressive 2014 version.
Schedule
| Date | Time (ET) | Location | Networks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu. April 14 | 7 p.m. | Washington | NBCSN/CBC/TVA |
| Sat. April 16 | 7 p.m. | Washington | CNBC/CBC/TVA |
| Mon. April 18 | 7 p.m. | Philadelphia | CNBC/CBC/TVA |
| Wed. April 20 | 7 p.m. | Philadelphia | NBCSN/CBC/TVA |
| Fri. April 22* | TBD | Washington | TBD |
| Sun. April 24* | TBD | Philadelphia | TBD |
| Wed. April 27* | TBD | Washington | TBD |
* If necessary