Tomorrow can’t come soon enough, the gutsy, determined Washington Capitals take the ice against Philadelphia Flyers in the playoff series opener.
Let’s first get it out of the way and see what the meaningless pundits out there are saying. First up …
ESPN. Believe it or not, 5 of the 6 ESPN hockey experts are picking the Capitals to prevail over the Flyers. Only Buccigross is picking Philly. We knew he had a problem.
CNNSI. Allan Muir takes the Caps in 7 games.
The Caps have an edge in net (Cristobal Huet), but with up to three regular defensemen out, they’ll be hard-pressed. Philly’s Martin Biron is on a two-game shutout streak, but struggled against the Caps (3.98 GAA, .872 save pct), whose momentum and confidence is key.
Bolded for emphasis. Now we are down to two. Possibly one. We know Brina Pothier is out and has been for over 50 games. But, Tarik conforms that Morrisonn is ready to go. Jeff Schultz appears like he will be ready as well, so the caps should be at pretty much near full heath on the blue line.
CBS Sportsline. 3 of the 4 NHL experts pick the Caps. So it appears the Capitals are the faves right now.
DCPSR 4 Keys to Game One and Philly Series …
Cristobal Huet. Huet was a significant, if not THE SIGNIFICANT, factor is the improbable late playoff push by the Capitals. Huet won his final 9 games for Washington, dominating in goal and making some of the most incredible saves we have see4n this year. I don’t think there is an analysts out there that would disagree with the presumption that the hottest goalie in the NHL right now is Huet.
When you hockey ignorant friends out there tell you that all the Capitals are is Alex Ovechkin, remind them of Huet. 9 straight wins. Over those 9 games, Huet gave up only 14 goals. That’s an approximate GAA of 1.55. In his last 4 games, he has allowed 3 goals.
Make no mistake about it. The Capitals need Huet on the top of his game.
Defense. Huet’s success can also be defined by the success of the Caps defense in protection. In the last 8 games, the defense has allowed more than 30 shots on gaol just one. Tom Poti has had a great run here the last 20 games defensively and the Capitals will need Poti to continue to show his veteran presence. The Caps will also benefit with the tandem of Morrisonn and Mike Green back together. The duo has been one of the most pleasant surprises of the year.
Alexander Ovechkin. Need I say more. He is the NHL MVP (will be). 65 goals and 112 points, Ovechkin dominated the NHL in 2007/08. He is the best player on ice today and the capitals will need his speed, power, goal scoring prowess. There really is no need to say anymore here, Ovechkin is key.
Brooks Laich. Alot of you out there may say Sergei Fedorov. Matt Cooke. Mike Green. Alexander Semin. And we could go on and on and on. Because, it is a team effort. BUT, the Capitals need to have third lien scoring from Laich. Laich has had a great year, scoring 21 goals. How many of us really expected Laich to even reach 12 goals. Laich’s new found scoring and confidence has helped fuel the Caps late push the last 20 games. If Laich can continue that momentum in the playoffs, the Caps will advance.
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