Capitals Shut Out Flyers, NHL Scores
Published on April 15 2016 6:30 am
Last Updated on April 15 2016 6:32 am
Going into the locker room at the first intermission, the Washington Capitals had no goals but all the momentum.
Three successful penalty kills kept the Philadelphia Flyers off the scoreboard, and the Capitals knew they'd get their chance.
When that happened, John Carlson scored on the power play and the Capitals locked down defensively to shut out the Flyers 2-0 on Thursday night in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.
In a special-teams showcase, Washington leaned on its trademark penalty killing and the goaltending of Braden Holtby to take the lead in the series.
Holtby stopped all 19 shots he faced for his third career shutout in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
"He's been great all year -- he's been standing on his head, winning us games and stealing us games," said Jay Beagle, who scored the Capitals' second goal. "With a bunch of (penalty kills), you have to rely on the goaltender quite a bit. He obviously stood on his head again tonight. Those PKs gave us momentum."
The Capitals went 4-for-4 on the penalty kill and frustrated the Flyers, who got only eight shots on net after the first period and lost second-line center Sean Couturier to an upper-body injury midway through the second. Couturier was hurt on a hit by Alex Ovechkin and didn't return. The team said he'd be evaluated Friday.
However, CSNPhilly.com reported that Couturier suffered an AC sprain in his left shoulder and will miss the rest of the series.
"All I know is we had to go without him for the rest of the game tonight," Philadelphia coach Dave Hakstol said. "I won't go any further than that."
Thursday, April 14 Scoreboard
Washington 2, Philadelphia 0
Game 1 - Capitals lead 1-0
NY Islanders 5, Florida 4
Game 1 - Islanders lead 1-0
Dallas 4, Minnesota 0
Game 1 - Stars lead 1-0
San Jose 4, Los Angeles 3
Game 1 - Sharks lead 1-0
Friday, April 15 Schedule (All Times Central)
Detroit at Tampa Bay
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 6 p.m.
NY Islanders at Florida
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 6:30 p.m.
Chicago at St. Louis
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 7 p.m.
Nashville at Anaheim
Game 1 - Series tied 0-0, 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 16 Schedule (All Times Central)
NY Rangers at Pittsburgh
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 2 p.m.
Philadelphia at Washington
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 6 p.m.
Minnesota at Dallas
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 7 p.m.
San Jose at Los Angeles
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 9:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 17 Schedule (All Times Central)
St. Louis at Chicago
Game 3 - Blues lead 1-0, 2 p.m.
Tampa Bay at Detroit
Game 3 - Lightning lead 1-0, 6 p.m.
Florida at NY Islanders
Game 3 - Series tied 0-0, 7 p.m.
Nashville at Anaheim
Game 2 - Series tied 0-0, 9:30 p.m.