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Sloppy Capitals Come Up Blank
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Coburn, a skilled two-way defenseman, sent a pass from just inside his blue line onto the stick of the streaking Umberger, who split defenseman Jeff Schultz and John Erskine. Umberger chipped the puck past Cristobal Huet at 5:53 to put the Flyers ahead 1-0.
It was Philadelphia's second shot of the game and took the lively home crowd out of the game.
The Flyers seemed emboldened by grabbing an early lead. Rugged winger Scott Hartnell was shoved near the crease but didn't appear to do all he could to avoid landing on top of Huet. It also appeared as Hartnell crashed down on the goalie, he attempted to pry off his mask. Huet reacted angrily, and Hartnell was assessed a penalty for goaltender interference.
But the Capitals failed to capitalize on the ensuing power play, one of four they wasted in the opening 20 minutes.
"We had plays designed on how to break down their [penalty kill], and we didn't do it today," Capitals forward Brooks Laich said. "That's a mental thing. That's just guys going on their own page. You look at the games around the league right now, goals are scored around the net, from getting pucks to the net and second and third opportunities. It's not from making sauce passes."
A defensive breakdown helped the Flyers take a 2-0 lead. Defenseman Mike Green, one of the heroes in Game 1 after scoring two third period goals, coughed up the puck at the Capitals' blue line. Green was a focal point of the Flyers, who made a concerted effort to make it more difficult for him to freewheel through the neutral zone.
"You can't just run at him," Flyers Coach John Stevens said of Green. "You can't just try to hit him. You can't chase him behind the net. You just have to angle and make sure he doesn't get up ice. You have to force the puck out of his hands."
Flyers winger Mike Knuble snagged the loose puck and led a two-on-one break into the offensive zone with Jeff Carter. Huet stopped Knuble's shot, but Carter was there to bang in the rebound at 15:17 to put the Flyers ahead 2-0.
Philadelphia controlled the second period from start to finish, outshooting the Capitals 14-6 and holding them without a shot over the final 10 minutes. And it became obvious early in the third there would be no memorable comeback this time. The Flyers kept the play in the Washington end, outshooting the Capitals 18-8.
Asked how he expected his team to respond in the next game, Boudreau said: "Like they've done all year -- come out and be great."
