This one can go either way in seven. Everyone talked about the Flyers needing to stay out of the penalty box against the Caps and not play dirty, but it was the Caps who ended up losing to a Flyers power play in OT in Game 7.
How different are the Habs from the Capitals? Both have young goaltenders, limited playoff experience. Both went seven games in the first round. Both have fast forwards and defense that gets in the rush. I don't see a whole lot of difference. I actually think the match up with the Habs is better than the Caps for the Flyers as the Habs seem to be more a puck control team and play at a bit slower pace. The Caps thrive on speedy rushes on turnovers. We saw it on goals by Ovechkin in the last series.
Some differences...Flyers power play is firing at double the rate of the Habs. The Habs penalty kill is working almost 25% better than the Flyers. Flyers are scoring 0.5 goals per game more than the Habs and giving up about 0.7 goals more per game.
This should shape up to be a good series. The Flyers are coming together well and you have to think the Habs are feeling the pressure of barely getting by the number 8 seed. Should be very interesting.
Is it scheduled to start on Thursday?
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