A team can only play with fire so often in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Two nights after erasing a two-goal deficit in the third period for a dramatic win, the Capitals put themselves in that same vulnerable position on Sunday afternoon. This time there were no heroics.
The Philadelphia Flyers scored two first-period goals and spent the rest of the day making that lead stand up. Goalie Martin Biron, in just his second playoff start, stopped all 24 shots he faced for a 2-0 shutout victory before another sell-out crowd at Verizon Center.
With the win, No. 6 seed Philadelphia evened the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal at 1-1 and took away home-ice advantage from the third-seeded Caps. The series shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3 on Tuesday.
“You’re not going to win too many games falling behind by two goals,” said Caps defenseman Tom Poti. “We were fortunate the other night to come back. But it’s tough to keep doing that in this league.”
Philadelphia centers R.J. Umberger and Jeff Carter each scored a goal in the first period. From then on, the Flyers played with the greater sense of urgency. They outshot the Caps 41-24, won 33 of 59 faceoffs and frustrated star left wing Alex Ovechkin, who finished with five shots on goal but few quality scoring chances.
“Our defense did a good job of pressing up [on Ovechkin],” said Flyers center Mike Richards. “We made his opportunities from the outside instead of last game when they were in front of the net.”
The Flyers had the lead after the first period despite giving the Caps four power-play chances. Washington’s power play finished 0-for-6 on the afternoon. At even strength, the Caps generated a few good looks in the second and third periods, but couldn’t convert. Left wing Alex Semin rang the post a minute into the second. Early in the third, Biron stopped a shorthanded breakaway by David Steckel and moments later stoned Matt Cooke alone in front.
“You’ve got to beat hot goalies in the playoffs to win. You just have to find ways and that means crashing the net or getting rebounds,” Cooke said. “We had enough opportunities offensively to win the game and we just didn’t.”
