**Ovechkin has definitely shown up tonight. no doubt there.
**Teams forget about Jeff Carter and yet he may be the most dangerous scorer the FLyers have. He is doing everything with an authority tonight. Had 4 of the 7 flyers scoring chances. The Flyers are really figuring out how to play to Jeff's strengths. They have teamed him with to muckers in Knuble and Upshall. Jeff is a goal scoring center, NOT a playmaker. He needs guys who will dig the puck out and go to the net for rebounds.
**Lots of PP in that period including three 5 on 3's.Wash 2-3 with 6 shots..Flyers 0-4 , 3 shots.
**After Ovechkin set up Backstrom for the goal that made it 1-1 he reportedly screamed "FU" to the crowd, and did the Briere arm thing. Knuble talking about it now on the screen between periods and laughing at it.
**Strong period from Biron. Huet looks shaky and more than anything, the Flyers know they can beat him.
**This is BY FAR as loud as I have ever heard a first round crowd in any series I have attended. This is the first time that I have really heard the Flyers really talk about the crowd to the press.
**Upshall is worth his weight in gold. He may be one of the chippiest players in the NHL but his effort and energy is huge.
**Very impressed with the poise of Laich. He is going to be a Star in this league because he is such a smart player.
**Semin's goal was also a thing of beauty from a sharp angle, but the Caps played that 5-3 perfectly, using AO as a decoy in front.
**The Caps need to stop playing a perimeter game however. It is killing them. Crash the net.
**Props to them for fighting in this game to get puck possession.
**Mike Richards in OT was Burt's prediction earlier today.
**Eminger stepping it up big time. Ovechkin really flying right now. The Caps look to be over their playoff butterflies
more as it happens
The INTRO...crazy energy ending with "God Bless America."
I caught up with Mike Wise Minutes Ago and Asked Him about the Story Below.
The tenor of this rugged series is terrible news for hockey progressives everywhere, the way the Flyers have punked a nice bunch of free skaters who train in Ballston and used to be among the most feared offensive teams in the NHL.
The Flyers act like they would rather demoralize a psychologically wounded offense than score a short-handed goal.
For most of the evening, there was this unmistakable air of testosterone coming from the Flyers' direction that just reeked of physicality, a way of exerting their mauling style on the Capitals that just sent their denizens into some medieval state of euphoria.
"We want to make it physical between the whistles," Flyers Coach John Stevens said. "I think it's important for no other reason then it's the best tool we have to defend, to be honest with you. I think it's very important that we move our feet and finish our checks and get people pushed off the puck."
Translation: "We will keep punking the Caps until the NHL commissioner tells us not to."
Something about this R-rated environment is just not conducive to Ted Leonsis' Family Pack Night or Ovie on Ice. The contrasts are so stark and revealing.
The Caps' postseason slogan: "Rock The Red." The Flyers? "Vengeance Now," which comes across as less of a slogan and more of a sequel to Charles Bronson's "Death Wish."
It's almost impossible to fathom, but the Capitals took the ice in front of a building as loud as Verizon Center last Friday. The fans wore orange instead of the Capitals' red, and many of the women and children looked as if they could work security for Megadeth.
They flat-out market and sell violence here, sanctioned, unbridled assaults disguised as sport.
The Flyers are an instant repudiation of what Gary Bettman wanted the league to become. They are a reminder of the NHL's pugilistic past that just won't go away.
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