Game 7's

[The General]

GAME 1
1 2 3 Total

Philadelphia 1 3 0 4 Final

Washington 1 1 3 5

GAME 2

1 2 3 Total

Philadelphia 2 0 0 2 Final

Washington 0 0 0 0
GAME 3

1 2 3 Total

Washington 1 1 1 3 Final

Philadelphia 3 1 2 6

GAME 4

1 2 3 OT 2OT Total

Washington 2 1 0 0 0 3 Final

Philadelphia 2 0 1 0 1 4 2OT
GAME 5

1 2 3 Total

Philadelphia 0 1 1 2 Final

Washington 1 1 1 3
GAME 6

1 2 3 Total

Washington 0 2 2 4 Final

Philadelphia 1 1 0 2

Series at a Glance

vs. Series tied 3-3 Game 1: at SJ CGY 3, SJ 2 - Final Recap | Box Score Highlights Game 2: at SJ SJ 2, CGY 0 - Final Recap | Box Score Highlights Game 3: at CGY CGY 4, SJ 3 - Final Recap | Box Score Highlights Game 4: at CGY SJ 3, CGY 2 - Final Recap | Box Score Highlights Game 5: at SJ SJ 4, CGY 3 - Final Recap | Box Score Highlights Game 6: at CGY CGY 2, SJ 0 - Final Recap | Box Score Highlights Game 7: at SJ Tue, Apr 22 - 10:00 pm EDT TV: CBC

Winners, PLEASE?

Thanks and BOL to all. Good night of action.

[The General]

Caps Host First Game 7 Since 92.

April 22 vs. Philadelphia Flyers at Verizon Center

Game 7, Eastern Conference quarterfinal series (series even, 3-3)
Time: 7:00 pm

TV: Comcast, TSN

Radio: WJFK 106.7 FM, WFED 1050 AM, XM

Pre-Game: Pre-Cap Podcast on Washington Capitals - The Official Web Site at 3 p.m.

Washington Capitals (43-31-8, 94 points in regular season)
Philadelphia Flyers (42-29-11, 95 points in regular season)

Matchup

The last time the Caps came back from Philadelphia, they were down 3-1 in their best-of-seven series with the Flyers and in need of two wins – one in each city – to force a Game 7 on Tuesday in the District. Four days later, the Caps jet back to D.C. to get ready for that Game 7 date after their 4-2 comeback win evened the series in Philadelphia on Monday.

Washington will be playing its first Game 7 in almost 12 years, and the first Game 7 on Washington home ice since May 1, 1992.

Monday marked the first time in the series that the team that scored first did not win the game. Philly scored on each of its first two power play chances in the game to go up 2-0, but the resilient Capitals rebounded to win after being down by two for the second time in the series. The Capitals trailed Game 1 by a 4-2 count in the third period before they rallied for a 5-4 win.

While the Caps were trailing, Washington goaltender Cristobal Huet kept his team in the game with some key saves. Those stops would prove to be big ones later on.

Caps star left wing Alex Ovechkin scored a pair of third period goals – his first since Game 1 – to break a 2-2 deadlock and send the series back to Washington. Six games into their first ever Stanley Cup playoff series, each of Washington’s “Young Guns” – Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom – has three goals.

Washington poured 40 shots on Flyers goaltender Martin Biron in Game 6, the most the Caps have mustered in any regulation game in the series. After firing 13 shots on goal in the first four games of the series, Ovechkin has launched 15 on net in the last two tilts.

From the start of the series, Philadelphia coach John Stevens opted to put his top defensive duo of Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen out against Ovechkin’s line. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau countered by moving center Sergei Fedorov to Ovechkin’s line and moving Backstrom to a line with Semin and Brooks Laich.

As the series has gone deeper, the Backstrom line has begun to feel its legs. Semin has scored in three straight games, and he now leads the Caps in playoff scoring. Backstrom has a goal in three straight games. Laich has a point in each of the last four games, the longest scoring streak of his NHL career.

“We want to make sure we’re not too fancy in front of our home crowd,” says Laich, in discussing how the Caps must play if they are to win Game 7. “We want to keep it simple, and we saw tonight when we don’t play our way what happens and we saw what we can do when we do play our way. When we can get pucks below the goal line, and get on the body and initiate, take pucks to the net, I think we’re a hard team to defend. We want to be less risk and more simple plays that are productive for our forecheck.”

With its second line clicking and Ovechkin now finding the range as well, Stevens is starting to back off with a couple of his beleaguered veteran defenders.

Derian Hatcher averaged 21:06 during the regular season – third among Philly defenders – and 22:21 through the first five games of this series. Hatcher led all Flyers defenders with 8:11 in the first period of Game 6, but he was badly exposed on Washington’s second goal of the night, Semin’s game-tying tally. Hatcher logged just 4:31 in the third period.

Philly captain Jason Smith skated 16:47 in Game 5, and was cut down to 11:56 – six minutes less than his regular season average – in Game 6. Those are the lowest ice time totals Smith has logged in his six games in this series.

In their last nine periods of hockey in this series, the Flyers have totaled just two even-strength goals. One was Mike Knuble’s overtime game-winner in double-overtime of Game 4; Knuble is now sidelined for the series with a hamstring injury. Hatcher has the other even-strength strike during that span.

Both the Caps and the Flyers will be playing Game 7 on short rest; they’ll be playing for the second time in as many nights and for the third time in four days. Washington took the train to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4, but flew to Philly on Sunday for Monday’s Game 6. The Caps quickly flew home afterwards, hoping to maximize their rest before Tuesday’s tilt.

Finally, neither goaltender has had much experience at starting both games on back-to-back nights during the course of his NHL career.

Biron is 8-21-6 with a 3.30 goals against average and an .879 save pct. lifetime in the second of starts on back-to-back nights. He is 5-17-3 with a 3.52 goals against average and an .869 save pct. when the second of those back-to-back starts comes on the road.

Since the lockout, Biron is 2-7-1 with a 4.85 goals against average and an .845 save pct. in the second of starts on back-to-back nights. Biron’s most recent start in that situation came on Mar. 14 in Pittsburgh when he allowed three goals on eight shots in just 24 minutes of work in a 7-1 loss to the Penguins. His last win in the second of starts on back-to-back nights came seven starts ago, on Nov. 11, 2006.

Huet is 2-8-2 during his career when starting the second of consecutive starts on back-to-back nights. He has a 3.24 goals against average and an .899 save pct. in such situations.

The last time Huet had such a start was also against Pittsburgh, on Mar. 9. He gave up three goals on 25 shots in a 4-2 loss (one goal was an empty-netter. Huet’s most recent win when starting the second game in as many nights came on Dec. 28, 2007 when he stopped 40 of 41 shots in a road win over the Panthers.

“I feel good physically,” says Huet, when asked about starting games on consecutive nights for the first time in more than a month. “Obviously we’re going to do whatever it takes to be top-notch for [Tuesday], take care of the body. We’re a group of guys with young legs and good legs, and we’re going to be ready to go.”

It’s a one-game series now, and the winner moves on to the next round.

“You have to win four games to do it,” warns Laich. “They’ve won in our building before, so we have to be prepared. We can’t think we have anything wrapped up here. This series isn’t over.”

Notes: The Caps were 8-7-3 in the second of back-to-back games during the regular season. The Flyers were 7-8-2 in the second game of back-to-back contests during the regular season.

Fun Fact: It was 20 years ago (Apr. 16, 1988) when Washington last won Game 7 of a playoff series. That was also the only time in franchise history that a Caps team rebounded from a 3-1 series deficit to win a Stanley Cup playoff series. Everyone knows that the Caps beat the Flyers that year, and that Dale Hunter supplied the overtime game-winner for the Caps in Game 7.

When the Caps won Game 5 of that series to pull to within 3-2 and force the series back to Philadelphia for Game 6, it was Washington defenseman Kevin Hatcher who netted the game-winner in the Caps’ 5-2 Game 5 win. Hatcher’s younger brother Derian is now a member of the Flyers.

Short Shifts: Nicklas Backstrom has a goal and six points in four career games against the Flyers. He had three goals and 10 points in his last 10 regular season games. Backstrom finished with 69 points, second among all NHL rookies. He led NHL freshmen with 55 assists and was tied for third among rookies with a plus-13 defensive rating … Matt Bradley has three goals and five points in 16 career contests against Philadelphia. He played plus or even hockey in each of the final 11 games of the regular season, posting a plus-3 defensive rating during that stretch … Donald Brashear has three goals, five points and 103 PIM in 23 career games against the Flyers. He played plus or even hockey in each of his last six regular season games … Chris Clark has three goals and nine points in 14 career games against Philly … Matt Cooke has four goals and five points in 10 career games against the Flyers. He played plus or even hockey in 21 of his last 22 regular season games, and was plus-7 during that span … Steve Eminger has two assists in 10 career games against Philadelphia. He was a plus or even player in each of his last seven regular season games and was plus-2 during that period … John Erskine played plus or even hockey in each of his last 11 games and was plus-5 during that stretch … Sergei Fedorov has nine goals and 27 points in 23 career games against the Flyers. He had a goal and seven points and was plus-4 in his final six games of the regular season … Tomas Fleischmann a goal and three points in five career games against Philadelphia. He had a goal and three points in his final five regular season games … Boyd Gordon has three assists in 11 career games against the Flyers. He played plus or even hockey in each of the final seven games of the regular season, and was plus-3 overall during that span … Mike Green has two goals and five points in 10 career games against Philadelphia. He had a goal and nine points and was plus-9 in his last seven games of the regular season … Cristobal Huet is 3-0-1 with a shutout, a 2.54 goals against average and a .901 save pct. lifetime against the Flyers. He is 11-2 with two shutouts, a 1.63 goals against average and a .936 save pct. in 13 starts since joining the Caps on Feb. 26. Huet has allowed only 10 even-strength goals in his 13 games with the Capitals. He has won nine straight starts, the longest streak of his career and the longest streak by a Caps goalie since Pete Peeters won nine straight more than 20 years ago, from Jan. 28-Mar. 3, 1987 … Brent Johnson is 2-6 with a 4.54 goals against average and an .857 save pct. lifetime against Philly. He is one win shy of 100 for his NHL career. Since the beginning of December, Johnson is 6-4-1 with a 2.38 goals against average and a .917 save pct in 12 appearances (11 starts) … Milan Jurcina has an assist in eight career contests against Philadelphia … Olie Kolzig is 14-19-3 with a shutout, a 2.74 goals against average and a .908 save pct. lifetime against the Flyers. He became the 23rd NHL goaltender to record 300 career wins when he defeated Calgary on Mar. 14. Since the beginning of February, Kolzig is 7-4-2 with a 2.30 goals against average and a .918 save pct. in 14 games (13 starts). He has allowed two or fewer goals in nine of those 13 starts. He is currently tied with Mike Richter for 22nd place on the NHL’s all-time wins list. Kolzig is one win behind Turk Broda (21st place) and four wins behind Billy Smith (20th) … Viktor Kozlov has 11 goals and 21 points in 43 career games against Philly. He had a goal and eight points and was plus-8 in his last seven regular season games … Brooks Laich has two goals and five points in 11 career games against Philadelphia. He had four goals and 10 points in his final 11 regular season games … Quintin Laing has one assist in two career games against the Flyers. He had 52 blocked shots in 39 regular season games, and is one of only two NHL forwards with more than 30 games played who has more blocked shots than games played. Laing finished the season in a tie for 23rd among NHL forwards in blocked shots … Shaone Morrisonn has a goal and four points in 15 career games against the Flyers. He wais plus-6 in his last five regular season games … Alex Ovechkin has 12 goals and 21 points in 12 career contests against the Flyers. He led the NHL with 65 goals, 112 points, 22 power play goals and 11 game-winning goals. Ovechkin had 26 goals and 47 points in his last 31 regular season games. He had 17 goals and 30 points and was plus-20 in his last 18 games. On Mar. 25 in Carolina, he recorded his 61st goal of the season, eclipsing Dennis Maruk’s previous team record of 60 set in 1981-82. Ovechkin is the first Capital ever to record two 100-point seasons, and he recorded a career best 112 points … Brian Pothier has one goal and three points in 13 career games against the Flyers … Tom Poti has a goal and 15 points in 36 career games against Philly. He had a goal and five points and was plus-6 in his last seven regular season games … Jeff Schultz had two assists and was plus-6 in his last six regular season games … Alexander Semin has four goals and seven points in nine career games against Philadelphia. He had four goals and five points and was plus-2 in his last six regular season games … Martin Biron is 10-7-2 with a shutout, a 2.70 goals against average and a .906 save pct. lifetime against Washington. He was 8-4-4 with two shutouts, a 2.31 goals against average and a .922 save pct. in his last 16 regular season appearances (15 starts) … Daniel Briere has eight goals and 19 points in 21 career contests against the Caps. He had a seven-game scoring streak (five goals, five assists) to close out the regular season and had nine goals and 17 points in his last 15 games … Jeff Carter has four goals and eight points in nine career games against Washington. He had one goal and five points in his last five games … Braydon Coburn has three assists in nine career games against the Capitals … Jim Dowd has two goals and three points in 17 career games against the Caps … Steve Downie has one assist in two career games against the Capitals … Simon Gagne has 16 goals and 29 points in 27 career games against the Caps. He has two goals and seven points in his last 10 games … Scott Hartnell has three goals and seven points in 10 career games against the Capitals … Derian Hatcher has four goals and 12 points in 28 career games against Washington … Randy Jones has one goal and four points in 10 career games against the Capitals. He had a goal and three points and was plus-5 in his last five regular season games … Sami Kapanen has 11 goals and 26 points in 42 career games against the Caps … Mike Knuble has 12 goals and 25 points in 34 career games vs. Washington. He had two goals and four points in his last five regular season games … Lasse Kukkonen has one assist in two career games against the Caps … Joffrey Lupul has two goals and five points in five lifetime tilts against the Capitals. He had two goals and three points in his last four regular season tilts … Jaroslav Modry has two goals and 11 points in 20 career games vs. the Capitals. He played plus or even hockey in each of his last seven regular season contests, posting a plus-5 in that span … Antero Niittymaki is 3-2-1 with a 2.54 goals against average and a .911 save pct. lifetime against the Caps. He won each of his last two regular season starts … Vaclav Prospal has nine goals and 33 points in 48 career games against Washington. He had three goals and nine points in his final eight regular season games … Mike Richards has three goals and nine points in 10 career games against Washington. He had four goals and eight points in his last nine regular season games … Jason Smith has four assists in 30 career games against the Capitals … Kimmo Timonen has a goal and eight points in 13 career games against the Caps … R.J. Umberger has three goals and eight points in 12 career games against Washington … Scottie Upshall has one assist in five career games against the Caps. He had two goals and three points in his last four regular season games.

Injuries

Philadelphia Flyers

Defenseman Mike Rathje has a back/hip injury and is out indefinitely.
Right wing Mike Knuble has a hamstring injury and is out for the series.

Left wing Simon Gagne has a mild concussion and is out indefinitely.

Washington

Defenseman Brian Pothier has an upper body injury and is day-to-day.
Defenseman Jeff Schultz has an upper body injury and is day-to-day.
Center Michael Nylander underwent shoulder surgery and is out 3-6 months.

Right wing Chris Clark has a groin injury and is day-to-day.

Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings
Philadelphia Forwards
19-Hartnell, 48-Briere, 40-Prospal
9-Upshall, 17-Carter, 15-Lupul
25-Thoresen, 18-Richards, 20-Umberger
32-Cote, 34-Dowd, 24-Kapanen

Philadelphia Defensemen
5-Coburn, 44-Timonen
2-Hatcher, 6-Jones
21-Smith, 28-Kukkonen

Goaltenders
30-Niittymaki, 43-Biron

Washington Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 91-Fedorov, 25-Kozlov
21-Laich, 19-Backstrom, 28-Semin
24-Cooke, 39-Steckel, 10-Bradley
87-Brashear, 15-Gordon, 14-Fehr

Washington Defensemen
26-Morrisonn, 52-Green
3-Poti, 23-Jurcina
4-Erskine, 44-Eminger

Goaltenders
37-Kolzig, 38-Huet


Washington Capitals - Preview: Philadelphia @ Washington - 04/22/2008

[winkyduck]

G7 in the NHL is the VERY BEST of any sport - not even close

games are "unbettable" in that no way i want the faves at these prices but not crazy about the dogs either. i have Sharkey's Machine plays to GO and WIN the Cup so i am parying they stop choking - for once. Calgary +160-ish is the best play on the board when you conside the line. this is a 50/50 game and to get Calgary at this price is too good to pass up. might not win but Iginla in G7 +160 is tempting

[The General]

Love NHL playoffs and esp game 7, I took Phil PL and that 4 min PP kill by the Caps suked for us Phil bettors.

[blackbox]

THIS SHARKS GAME IS HOUR FROM MY PLACE--HP PAVILLION WILL BE WILD TONIGHT--WISH I WERE THERE--IT IS GOING TO BE ONE ROUGH - HARD FOUGHT GAME--NOBODY IN SAN JOSE THINKS THIS IS GONNA BE EASY--GOOD LUCK TO THE WINNER--NO PLAY FOR ME--EITHER WAY--HOME ICE ADVANTAGE IS NOT AS BIG ADVANTAGE AS IN BASKETBALL-LISTENED TO A SPORTS CALL-IN SHOW ON MY WAY HOME--SAID SOMETHING LIKE 54% HOME ICE WINNERS--AND ANOTHER GOOD COMMENT-SAID YOU THINK THE HOME ADVANTAGE WOULD BE BETTER, SINCE THE BETTER TEAM USUALLY HAS MORE HOME GAMES. NOT MY NUMBERS I AM QUOTING-

[The General]

Let's go FLYERS and SHARKS!

[The General]

5 straight mins of PP killed by Caps just 25 mins in.

[The General]

Some breathing room after the Cap goalie was taken out by his teammate for an empty net goal. Not over but the PL looks nicer.

[The General]

The intensity is GREAT. Game 7 NHL playoffs ranks up there w/auto racing.

[The General]

Goal Caps 2-2 4 mins left in 2nd period.

[The General]

Worried about an empty netter for the 2 goal win but then again I think Phily can win SU, too.

Good game with one more to go this night.

[Jimmy Hoffa]

You staying up for the Calgary/San Jose game General?

I'm soooo tempted to hit Calgary at +175 tonight. Probably lay off because San Jose is capable of winning. I don't put much faith in home ice advantage theories though...

As a fan, I'd be rooting for Calgary.

[The General]

Yes sir but looking at ov 5.

Have a dandy evening Jimmy. Calgary canada hockey seems the fit. haha

[The General]

Great night here guys. couple units on Phil and ov in late game. get lucky occasionally.

[NoNewbieca]

Two great hockey games last night. Love seeing Flyers and Sharks advance! If you did not like the Caps-Flyers series, then you don't like good hockey. Hard hitting, lots of lead changes and plenty of scoring. Ovechkin has a laser for a shot....amazing skill shown.

[The General]

To bad no games tonight

[boomerbust]

Dora the explorer saved the flyboys. No way the caps lose that game if it had not been B2B. Last place for caps in late fall meant the booth was booked in advance. Philly lucked out in that they had zero time to think about the choke of blowing 3-1 lead. With day off before 7, Caps roll!