The Flyers didn’t dominate the Washington Capitals through much of their 5-4 shootout win last night, but they played well enough to earn two valuable points against the Eastern Conference juggernaut. While they managed to slow the game down from the breakneck barnburner that was Thursday night, sloppy play and poor special teams gave the Caps many opportunities that, thankfully enough, they didn’t capitalize on (no pun intended).
Brian Boucher was given the start after Sergei Bobrovsky came out and said what we all knew- that he wanted to keep playing, but needed a break. I’m sure coach Peter Laviolette would have preferred to start Bob, but you have to give the rookie a breather when he hasn’t played more than 35 games in a given season and may be the starter in the playoffs. Boosh, meanwhile, was adequate during regulation and clutch in his blanking of Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, and Niklas Backstrom in the shootout.
Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, and Andreas Nodl all scored for the Flyers at even strength. Nodl’s goal appeared to be the game changer, putting the team up 4-3 in the third period. The organization’s faith in Nodl has appeared to pay off, as his hard work ethic has translated into the scoresheet and provides Richards with a consistent linemate.
Special teams were a disaster last night. The powerplay, after getting back on track with some changes from Laviolette, has reverted to an unorganized mess. Claude Giroux managed to break the drought in the second period, deflecting a shot from Chris Pronger off his cup (only a move that Giroux could pull off), but the team needs to address this soon. The penalty kill also gave up two leads with three Capitals powerplay goals in the third period. I’m less concerned about the penalty kill moving forward than the amount of penalties the team has been taking lately.
The Flyers at least have a platform to build off of for Monday night’s rematch with the Montreal Canadiens.
