Flyers at Capitals
After exceeding expectation by capturing the second Presidents' Trophy in franchise history, the Washington Capitals look to avoid the end result that befell them the last time the club emerged with the NHL's best record. No stranger to early exits in the playoffs, the Capitals attempt to get off on the right foot on Thursday when they host the upstart Philadelphia Flyers in Game 1 of their opening-round series.
"I can't go to the bank and they're going to give me anything," coach Barry Trotz said after his club finished 11 points better than the next closest team (Dallas). "Other than (home ice), we're entitled to nothing." While Washington had a fair amount of time to prepare for the playoffs, Philadelphia punched its ticket during its penultimate game of the regular season. The Flyers rode a blistering 15-5-3 stretch over the final 23 contests to leap over four teams and secure the final wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference. Included in that stretch was a 2-1 shootout win over the Capitals on March 30 that evened the four-game regular-season series at two victories apiece.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, TVA
ABOUT THE FLYERS (41-27-14): To a man, many of the Philadelphia players dedicated the team's spirited late-season surge to owner Ed Snider, who died on Monday after a two-year battle with bladder cancer. "We'll be playing with heavy hearts. But at the end of the day, I think Mr. Snider wanted us to win a Stanley Cup," forward Wayne Simmonds told Philly.com. Simmonds scored seven times in his last seven games to set a career high in goals (32) and added two more assists in that stretch to match a personal best with 60 points.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (56-18-8): Captain Alex Ovechkin reached the 50-goal plateau for the seventh time in his career this season, with two of those tallies coming against Philadelphia. The three-time Hart Trophy winner traditionally has tormented the Flyers to the tune of 48 points (31 goals, 17 assists) in 41 career encounters. Goaltender Braden Holtby tied Martin Brodeur's NHL record with 48 wins in a season, but managed only two at Philadelphia's expense and owns a 6-4-6 mark with a 2.76 goals-against average versus the Flyers.
OVERTIME
1. Washington RW T.J. Oshie netted a career-high 26 goals this season, but caused a minor stir by leaving practice on Wednesday for what Trotz later deemed to be precautionary reasons.
2. Flyers captain Claude Giroux recorded a team-high four points (one goal, three assists) in four meetings with the Capitals this season and has 31 (15 goals, 16 assists) in 29 career encounters.
2. Washington won its initial Presidents' Trophy in 2010, but was bounced by eighth-seeded Montreal in the first round.