Flyers Caps

First and foremost, I've spent the last few days doing a major overhaul of the site and how it works. Most importantly, you can reach this website from 4and26sports.com within 24 hours or so, because I bought out the domain name. So go there from now on. Or else. On to hockey..

Eastern Conference Playoff Series Preview, Philadelphia vs. Washington

WASHINGTON CAPITALS:
43-31-8
    The NHL avoided a potential fiasco late in the season with the brawl for the Southeast Division. The Carolina Hurricanes and the Washington Capitals, separated by scant inches in the standings, fought it out to the last few days of the season. Although neither would make the wildcard based on record alone, the fact that division champions automatically get playoff berths made their plight relevant. The winner of their battle attained the 3rd seed, and the loser the 9th- which means it was do or die for both. And I'm sure the NHL was pleased with the outcome. 
    For the prospect of persuading ANYONE outside of hockey fans (the few of us left) to watch this series, the NHL desperately needed the Capitals to make the playoffs. Why? So the world gets the chance to see Alexander Ovechkin. Someone with that talent should not be relegated to the Versus network. The man is a scoring champ, record breaking, sure-to-be MVP, marketable, young, All-Star.  The only people unhappy to see him here are the Flyers. His numbers, some of which have not been seen since Gretzky: 112 points (1st in the league), 65 (!) goals (1st), 47 assists (t-29), +28 (7th). He is the best player on the ice in this series, or any series. Bar none. Yes, I'm talking to you Sid and/or Malkin.
    The Caps aren't a one man show, however. Cristobal Huet, a goalie acquired from the Habs at the trade deadline, has been excellent. He has a superb 2.32 GAA and .920 save percentage, good for sixth and tenth in the league. Nicklas Backstrom has been a solid center with 55 assists.
    They're also on fire right now. 37-17-7 since the all star break (best in the league) and 7 straight wins, the Caps have been obliterating the competition a la Quentin Jackson. To fully grasp how far they've come, they were 14th in the Conference at the break- now they've got the 3rd seed.

Flyers and prediction in the next post.