Every Stanley Cup playoff series has a momentum all its own.
The Capitals, tied at one game apiece in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal after Sunday’s disappointing 2-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, look to regain it tonight when the two teams face off for Game 3 at Wachovia Center.
The Flyers, by far the better team Sunday, were also up by two goals entering the third period of Friday’s Game 1 before the Caps rallied for a dramatic 5-4 victory. That’s a trend that must change if Washington is to win at least one of the next two games in Philadelphia.
“I don’t think it’s time to push the panic button yet,” said Caps forward Brooks Laich, a 21-goal scorer who has just one shot on goal in the series. “But we’re looking for a better response than we had in Game 2.”
That won’t be easy in front of an orange-clad sell-out crowd at Wachovia Center, where Philadelphia has won 10 of its last 12 postseason home games. And while the Caps won both regular-season contests there this season, coach Bruce Boudreau said that accomplishment amounted “to a hill of beans now.”
The Flyers have done a fine job so far of keeping the puck away from left wing Alex Ovechkin (NHL-best 65 goals in the regular season), thanks in large part to defensemen Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen. Ovechkin didn’t record a shot on goal in the first two periods of Game 1 before scoring the game-winner late in the third. And while he took five on Sunday, few were quality scoring chances.
“I think our line didn’t play well,” said Ovechkin, including teammates Nicklas Backstrom and Viktor Kozlov, who together took just six shots in the first two games. “We played well only in the first game in third period when we controlled the puck, we moved our legs, we won the battles.”
While the series hasn’t become the physical “bloodbath” predicted by NBC analyst Pierre McGuire, Philadelphia has taken its share of runs at Caps goalie Cristobal Huet — something expected in almost any postseason series.
“But I have to try and keep my cool and let the ref do his job,” said Huet, who Sunday was clipped by Flyers forward Daniel Briere and landed on by rugged forward Scott Hartnell before jumping into a brief shoving match with another Flyer late in the third period.
