The Washington Capitals were finally able to crack their former netminder on Sunday as the closed out the first round with a 1-0 win over the Flyers.
Michal Neuvirth, who replaced Steve Mason in Game 4, stopped a remarkable 103 shots out of 105 to bring the Flyers within a win to force Game 7. His 44-save shutout on Friday only fueled the Flyers impressive resilience and gave Philadelphia more pride in their team after an embarrassing Game 3 loss at home.
Nicklas Backstrom was the only player to score in Game 6. He was set up by Marcus Johansson for a one-timer that beat a diving Neuvirth up high.
"Nicky made a pretty perfect shot, and we knew it was going to take a perfect shot to be Neuvy," said Braden Holtby after the game.
Neuvirth received praise from his former teammates during the handshake line after the game, with smiles and pats on the back from Ovechkin and Holtby.
Braden Holtby backstopped the Caps to another shutout win this series by stopping 26 shots including 15 shots in the final 8:30 of the game. It was Holtby's second shutout of the post season. In the 6 games against the Flyers he allowed just 5 goals, and Sunday's win was Holtby's 20th career post season victory, trying him with Caps great Olag Kolzig.
“Not only has he made great saves for us, but he makes timely saves,… Barry Trotz said. “When you’re getting goaltending like that, you have a chance to win every night.…
Washington was able to shake off the ghost of playoffs past by finally eliminating the Flyers, and now their biggest challenge of the season awaits in Pittsburgh.
The hottest team in the NHL in the final frame of the season will be facing off against a Presidents Trophy winning team that all by rolled over the opposition this year.
To say this will be a tough series is an understatement.
"It's going to be an interesting series," Alex Ovechkin said when asked about the upcoming series against the Penguins. "It's going to be a hard series with two good teams playing against each other. We'll see what's going to happen."
The Caps and Pens haven't seen each other in the playoffs since 2009 when Pittsburgh beat the Caps in 7 seven games in the East Semis. The Penguins won the Cup that year against the Red Wings.
Washington is making a new name for itself and not looking at past playoff disappointments as a stepping stone to improve.
"We're trying to write our own history," said Holtby when asked about the Capitals past playoff eliminations.
"We've been saying it all year: It's a different group. That past was a different regime, basically a different team completely."
The schedule hasn't come out yet, but the Caps are taking to the ice tomorrow to start preparations for the second round which starts off in DC.
The Philadelphia Flyers gave the Capitals a very tough series. Despite the outcome, they played a strong defensive game and showed just how unpredictable the playoffs can be, and they also showed that Philadelphia is just as passionate about hockey as anyone. The antics from Game 3 were quickly dispelled, and the fans and the team rallied to give the Caps a huge scare. Cheers to the Flyers and the city for a good series.
What are your predictions for Round Two?
Can the Caps pull out a win?
More to come...