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Everybody's talkin' but the Neuv kid in town.
The pesky Flyers refuse to lose.
Once trailing three and to noone and facing a first round sweep elimination, the Philadelphia Flyers needed a hero.
Michal Neuvirth made one stop after another on Friday to finish with 44 saves in the Flyers' 2-0 Game 5 win over the Capitals to extend the series to force a Game 6 in Philly.
Neuvirth has made 75 saves on the 76 shots that he has faced in Games 4 and 5 of this series.
The Flyers were outshot 44-11 and went 0 for 6 on the PP, however, lady luck wad on their side. Their game winning goal kissed in off a Caps defenseman's skate in Game 5 Friday night and cut the deficit of their best-of-seven first-round playoff series to 3-2.
Their 11 shots on goal by the Flyers were tge lowest in franchise playoff history.
Neuvirth was otherworldly in his shutout performance.
Down, out, and totally desperate, Flyers rookie head coach Dave Hakstol will give his net to veteran Michal Neuvirth in Game 4.
Neuvirth, a second round pick of the Capitals in 2006, was 18-8-2 with a .924 save % and 2.27 GAA this season.
This goalie change begs the question:
What took so long to yank Mason and replace him with Neuvirth?
Prior to Game 4, Neuvirth hadn't started a game since April 10.
Steve Mason earned his inevitable benching after he allowed 12 goals in three games, 5 of which were PPGs in Game 3.
Mason's dismal 4.09 GAA and a .852 save percentage and sloppy special teams play were killing the Flyers.
Ovechkin and the Caps were a sizzling 8 for 17 on the power play in the first three games of this series.
Game 6 will be played in Philly at Noon on Sunday.
One wonders what too rookie head coach Dave Hakstol so long to bench Steve Mason and play the more reliable Neuvirth.
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Did you know that in their history, the Washington Capitals are 3-8 in Game 5 competitions when they possess a 3 games to 1 playoff series lead?
Did you know that the Capitals have been outscored 30-22 in those critical Game 5s?
Did you know that in their recent history, the Capitals have choked away four, two-game leads in the playoffs since Alex Ovechkin's rookie season? The Caps are 1-2 in Game 5s when holding a 3-1 series lead.
Did you know that only four teams in the history of the NHL squandered a 3-0 playoff series lead?
The Washington Capitals are committed to killing any and all momentum that former Caps goalie Michal Neuvirth created foir the Flyers by beating the Caps 2-1 in Philly on Wednesday night.
Ovechkin spoke candidly about the recent past at Friday's morning skate ahead of Game 5 in the U.S. capital city tonight. Ovi doesn't want his team's spotty history in Game 5s to come back to bite the Capitals in the ass.
“It’s kind of a serious moment, a very important moment for us,… Ovechkin said.
“Today we were very concentrated. We don’t want to give them any breath in the beginning of the game. We want to finish this off tonight.…
Only four teams in the history of the NHL have ever blown a 3-0 series lead and the Capitals seem intent on ending any momentum the Flyers may have gained with their 2-1 win in Philadelphia on Wednesday night.
The Caps enter Game 5 with a 14-30 record in playoff series clinching situations and are 1-7 in their last eight attempts finish off a playoff opponent.
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