Caps vs. Flyers 12-16-2006 Post-Mortem

Another Saturday Night, another beatdown of the Flyers. I could get used to this. Onto the Battle Damage Assessment...

THE GOOD:

• Just like last week, the Caps beat a team that they should beat and they did it rather soundly too.
• Not only did the Caps hold the Flyers to just 22 shots, for the second consecutive game, the Caps outshot their opponent while racking up over 30 shots on goal (31 to be exact tonight).
• The Penalty Killers went 6 for 6 and the defensive effort gave Olie Kolzig a relatively easy night.
• A.O. not only picked up another three points, he also knocked Floppa Forsberg out of the game. Alexander Semin also emerged again tonight and racked up three points of his own as the skill guys got the job done tonight.

THE BAD:

• However, the skill guys combined for an 0 for 7 on the Power Play tonight. Too many missed chances on the Power Play. I understand that the Flyers are ranked 10th in the NHL (or 10nd at the Phone Booth put it tonight) but with seven chances, the Caps have to at least get one and they did not.
• The Caps looked like a team that was playing on back-to-back nights until the Flyers started hitting and scored the game's first goal. Until A.O. cleaned out Floppa Forsberg, the Caps were dangerously close to falling into a trap tonight.
• The Caps seemed uninterested in using their decided advantage in speed over the Flyers. The Caps looked like they were willing to play the Flyers style of game. Semin's first goal and A.O.'s goal were a direct result of speed. Had the Caps used their speed game more, it would have been worse for Philly. While it is nice that the Caps can still win, they should seek to dictate their strengths and against the Flyers, the Caps have a clear speed advantage.

THE UGLY:

• Derian Hatcher:

Sweeping a set of back-to-back games and rather efficiently taking care of an inferior opponent on home ice, I think it is safe to say that any hangover from Monday night's Penguin Scum game did not occur for this team. Once the Caps got going tonight they did not let the Flyers back into the game and also avoided their usual second period slump. The trick for this team is to now carry this over into somewhat tougher opponents next week. But until then,

It has been... A TWO POINT NIGHT!