Time CAPSule - Caps Hit the Road for Game 3 in Philly

Earlier this season, we posted Alex Ovechkin](https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/early-times-of-the-great-eight/c-311761890) and another Nicklas Backstrom](https://www.nhl.com/capitals/news/backstrom-takes-center-stage/c-313921356). In the process of crafting those stories and talking to the subjects themselves and many others, we were reminded of how exciting and thrilling the 2007-08 NHL season was in these parts.

It stands as Ovechkin's career year, it was Backstrom's rookie year, Bruce Boudreau took over behind the Washington bench on Thanksgiving Day, and the Caps made the playoffs for the first time in five years, winning 15 of 19, 11 of 12 and seven straight at season's end to come back from a dismal 6-14-1 start to win the Southeast Division title.

That season and that run into the playoffs augured in the "Rock The Red" era of hockey in DC, the beginning of 11 playoff appearances in a span of a dozen seasons. At this time a dozen years ago, the Caps were in the midst of that wild run. With the NHL's 2019-20 season "paused" for the foreseeable future, we're going to spend the next month looking back at the day-to-day of that remarkable late-season run, revisiting some of our coverage at the time with some fresh hindsight mixed in. On the off days between games, we will revisit some events from earlier in that landmark season. Enjoy!

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Coming off a 2-0 loss to the Flyers in Game 2, the Caps are in Philly on this night a dozen years ago, seeking to wrest home ice advantage back from Philadelphia in Game 3 of the first-round series. Outshot and outplayed by a significant margin in one of their poorest performances in nearly a month, the youthful Caps know they need to get back on track against a formidable Philadelphia team.

Sunday's loss in Game 2 ended a string of eight straight Washington wins, but loss aside, the Caps weren't at all happy with they way they played. Philly took it to them in every aspect of the game, and Washington was outshot 41-24 on the afternoon. Worse, the Caps were outshot 18-8 in the third period.

Here is our preview piece for Game 3, followed by a quick blog entry on the morning of the game, highlighting a personnel change for the Caps in those days before the advent of social media. Coach Bruce Boudreau has elected to put Eric Fehr into the lineup for his first ever taste of Stanley Cup playoff action, taking Tomas Fleischmann out.

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April 15 vs. Philadelphia Flyers at Wachovia Center

Game 3, Eastern Conference quarterfinal series

Time: 7:00 pm

TV: Versus, Comcast SportsNet

Radio:3WT 1500AM, 820 AM and 107.7 FM

Philadelphia Flyers (42-29-11, 95 points in regular season)

Washington Capitals (43-31-8, 94 points in regular season)

One of the hallmarks of coach Bruce Boudreau's Washington Capitals team this season has been its ability to bounce back from subpar performances. The Caps weren't at their best on Sunday when Philadelphia blanked Washington 2-0 in Game 2 to even the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at 1-1. The series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Tuesday night, and the Caps will have to be back on their game if they hope to regain control of the series.

"I think today we got outworked, and that doesn't sit well in here," said Caps center Brooks Laich in the immediate aftermath of Sunday's loss. "I think they were hungry and more desperate. They don't want to go down 2-0 in the series and I think they stepped their game up to the next level today, and we didn't do it.

"We played a good first 10 minutes but we weren't able to take our game to the next level. They did it. And we know that they're going to be hungry in Game 3; they're playing back at home. We have to come at them with the hunger that we had in the third period of the first game when we threw everything at them and played desperate hockey. We've got to find that again."

Washington had plenty of opportunities to dent Flyers goaltender Martin Biron on Sunday, but most of those chances came early. The Caps had five power plays in the game's first 22 minutes and six on the afternoon.

"We weren't sharp enough," said Laich of the Caps' power play performance. "We're capable of it, so I think it's just a mental thing. Making bad passes or bad decisions on the power play, that's a mental thing. We have plays that we set up in practices and we didn't execute them tonight.

"We've got to shoot more pucks. They come back, they bring four guys back and they protect their goalie. When they're going to do that we have to start shooting pucks, try to spread them out that way, go to the front of the net and get a rebound. It's tough to make passes down there through three or four sticks and try to get a tap-in goal."

Strong third periods have been another common characteristic of Washington's recent run of success, and the Caps used a three-goal third to rebound from a 4-2 deficit in winning Friday night's Game 1. In winning 13 of 14 games from Mar. 13-Apr. 11. - a span that includes Game 1 of the series with Philly - Washington outscored its opponents by a combined total of 17-2 in the third period.

The Flyers learned from Friday's game, and they kept their foot on the gas throughout the final frame of Sunday's contest. Philadelphia fired 18 shots on Washington goaltender Cristobal Huet, while holding the Caps to just eight shots on goal.

Throughout the game, Philly frequently made the Caps - especially Alex Ovechkin's line - play in its own end of the ice. Washington was rarely able to get a good forecheck going.

"It seemed like they could break out pretty easy," observes defenseman Mike Green. "We didn't get three guys up the ice; we only had one guy. Then it causes problems where they can make a pass and beat a couple guys. As long as we get in and pressure their defense, they're going to make mistakes and we can capitalize."

Another component of the Flyers' game was frequent net-crashing, something the Caps could stand to add to their own offensive repertoire. Philly's Scott Hartnell was called once for goaltender interference on Sunday, but he also got away with pushing Huet's head into the ice after he dropped him.

"They're definitely above average," says Huet, when asked if Philly's forwards tend to crash the crease more than most teams. "But I've watched some [other playoff] series, and every team is doing a job on the opposite goalie. I don't know if you watched New York and New Jersey, but it's a tough job for the ref to make sure we have our space, which is the crease. The rest, they're going to have to fight and we're going to have to do the same."

Washington defenseman John Erskine sees it the same way as Huet: it's that time of year.

"They've just got some big guys out there, and it's playoff hockey," shrugs Erskine. "I think every team has got to go to the net and try to get goals off rebounds."

After relying on its top line of Hartnell, Danny Briere and Vinny Prospal for all of its offense in Game 1, the Flyers got a goal each from two other units in Game 2. R.J. Umberger scored on a breakaway after a terrific stretch pass from defenseman Braydon Coburn, and Jeff Carter tallied on a rebound of a Mike Knuble shot. The first goal was aided by a poor Washington line change and the second by a neutral zone turnover.

Flyers goaltender Martin Biron became the ninth netminder to whitewash Washington in the playoffs. Including the final two games of the regular season, Biron has now authored shutouts in three of his last four starts.

During the regular season, Biron was 18-9-4 with a 2.42 GAA and a .919 save pct. on home ice. He recorded all five of his regular season shutouts at Wachovia Center.

Boudreau's NHL coaching career began in this building back on Nov. 23. In the 63 games since he has taken the reins, Washington has lost successive games in regulation only once, a 2-1 loss at Boston on Mar. 8 followed by a 4-2 setback to Pittsburgh the following day. Since then, Washington is 12-2.

"We don't like losing two in a row, it's obvious," says Laich. "The main thing is losing doesn't sit well in this locker room. We want to get back on the ice. We wish we played these guys [Monday]. We're going to look for a big response, we're going to look to set the tempo and play a solid first period in Philly on Tuesday. We're not going home very happy about our effort today."

Boudreau did not disagree with Laich's assessment. And he believes the Caps will rebound.

"They didn't have an edge that they've had for a month and a half previous," says Boudreau. "Shame on us if we don't come out and play better."

Washington absorbed four regular season shutout losses under Boudreau, and it won each of the four games immediately following those losses. The Caps scored five goals in three of those games, and four in the other.

Fun Fact: In their first 12 visits to the City of Brotherly Love, the Capitals went 0-12, a stretch that began in 1974 and ended in 1980. From 1980 to 1994, the Caps fared significantly better here, going 22-13-4. Then came another dry spell.

Washington was 2-20-2 in Philadelphia from 1994-2006. Since the start of the 2006-07 season, the Caps have now earned four straight wins on the road against the Flyers.

Injuries

Philadelphia Flyers

Defenseman Mike Rathje has a back/hip injury and is out indefinitely.

Defenseman Derian Hatcher has a broken right leg and is day-to-day.

Left wing Simon Gagne has a mild concussion and is out indefinitely.

Left wing Patrick Thoresen has a groin injury and is day-to-day.

Washington

Defenseman Brian Pothier has an upper body injury and is day-to-day.

Center Michael Nylander underwent shoulder surgery and is out 3-6 months.

Right wing Chris Clark has a groin injury and is day-to-day.

Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings

Philadelphia Forwards

19-Hartnell, 48-Briere, 40-Prospal

9-Upshall, 17-Carter, 22-Knuble

20-Umberger, 18-Richards, 15-Lupul

32-Cote, 34-Dowd, 24-Kapanen

Philadelphia Defensemen

5-Coburn, 44-Timonen

6-Jones, 21-Smith

26-Modry, 28-Kukkonen

Goaltenders

30-Niittymaki, 43-Biron

Washington Forwards

8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 25-Kozlov

28-Semin, 91-Fedorov, 24-Cooke

43-Fleischmann, 21-Laich, 15-Gordon

87-Brashear, 39-Steckel, 10-Bradley

Washington Defensemen

26-Morrisonn, 52-Green

55-Schultz, 3-Poti

4-Erskine, 23-Jurcina

Goaltenders

37-Kolzig, 38-Huet

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Tuesday Morning In Philly

The Caps are on the ice as I type. They're out a bit earlier than usual, because the home team doesn't skate here but rather at its practice facility in Voorhees, NJ. There are some lineup changes for tonight. Here's how they look:

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Kozlov

Laich-Fedorov-Semin

Cooke-Steckel-Bradley

Brashear-Gordon-Fehr

Looks like the defense will stay the same as in Sunday's Game 2, but I'll let you know if that's not the case.