Game 6 Caps @ Flyers 4-21-2008 Wrap Up/ Game 7 Caps vs. Flyers 4-22-2008 Preview

The Local Yokels:

(Com)Post: coming home, new old world, another shot. Times: firmer footing, senseless, patience pays off, experience. Caps.com.

The Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire. NHL.com Series Page. TSN.ca Series Page. ESPN NHL Playoffs page.

The Other Side:

Philadelphia Daily News: back from the dead, as advertised. Philadelphia Inquirer: blown, planted, busted, returned. Flyers.com.

Final Thoughts:

If blowing a two goal lead isn't bad enough, the Flyers had to travel to D.C. last night and sleep on this game in a hotel room. If you think that doesn't mean anything you've got another thing coming.

3 down, 1 to go.


Series C: Washington Capitals (46-42; 94 points; 1st Southeast Division, 3rd Eastern Conference, 12th Overall) vs. Philadelphia Flyers (45-43; 95 points; 4th Atlantic Division, 6th Eastern Conference, 11th Overall):
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game #7, Caps Game #7, Home Game #4, NHL Game #137

Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 7:08 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WJFK 106.7-FM. Philadelphia TV: Comcast Sportsnet Philadelphia. Radio: WWIP 610-AM. U.S. National TV: Versus. Canadian National TV: TSN. NHL Center Ice: None.

Tonight, a different kind of pressure awaits the Caps. The Caps have staved off elimination twice now and tonight they now have a chance to eliminate the Flyers from the Playoffs and move onto Round 2 themselves. They say the fourth win of the series is the toughest to get. The Caps have shown the Flyers just how hard it is, now it is the Caps turn to learn just how hard it is to eliminate somebody from the Playoffs.

What The Natives Are Saying:

Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire. NHL.com Series Page. TSN.ca Series Page. ESPN NHL Playoffs page.

Open Source Intelligence:


Didn't you read the links yesterday? The Flyers played "their Game 7" last night...

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

The Caps are just 1-4 All-Time in Game 7. To give you an idea of just how anything can (and often does) happen we'll tell you about the one time the Caps did win a Game 7. It was at home in 1988 against the Philadelphia Flyers. The Caps fought back from a 3-1 deficit in the series to earn a Game 7 on home ice at the old Cap Centre in Landover. The Caps went down in Game 7 3-0. They fought all the way back and took a 4-3 lead only to see the Flyers tie the game up late in regulation to force overtime. You've seen how that overtime period ended ad nausem so far so we won't post the You Tube clip that everybody else has the past couple of weeks (which only recently has surfaced). But what you probably don't remember/know is that Mike Gartner hit the goal post after unleashing his patented slapshot off the win before Hunter got in on the breakaway. What's going to happen tonight? You're going to see two teams with nothing to lose play like they have nothing to lose. Tonight somebodies season is going to end. The Caps are correct in that they haven't won anything yet and the win to close out the series is the hardest one to get. It doesn't matter if it is on your home ice or not. It doesn't matter if you have all the momentum in the world behind you going into the game. It does not matter that you are the younger team in the series and you slept in your own bed last night. It does not matter what the starting goaltender of the other team has done on the second of back-to-back games this season. This is just one game to decide the whole thing. The Caps can score first tonight but if they don't stay out of the Penalty Box, they'll give the Flyers a chance to get back into the game and possibly win it. Should the Caps lose tonight, nobody will remember the comeback last night and in the series just to force the Game 7. They'll just pat the Caps nicely on their heads and send them on their way.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 3
Flyers 2
Winner by Semin