Wed Apr 9 12:03:32 2008

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Stanley Cup Playoff Preview - Washington vs. Philadelphia

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(Sports Network) - Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals have already made the 2007-08 season a memorable one thanks to a thrilling late-season charge to the Southeast Division title.

The test for the Capitals now is to try and keep that momentum going deep into the playoffs.

For all intents and purposes, Ovechkin wrapped up the Hart Trophy with his amazing play in leading the Capitals to their first postseason appearance since 2003 and their first division title since 2001. This will be youngster's first-ever playoff series and he will be eager to make a good impression.

Ovechkin finished the year as the NHL's leader in points (112) and goals (65), meaning he will win both the Art Ross and Rocket Richard Trophies. The 22- year-old Russian's goal total was also the highest in league history for a left winger, breaking the mark of 63 tallies set by Luc Robitaille of the Los Angeles Kings in 1991-92.

With the pressure on in the closing month of the season, Ovechkin was especially productive as he recorded 29 points in Washington's final 17 games. He also scored seven goals during the Capitals' season-ending, seven-game winning streak.

The Caps also benefited greatly from some trades at the deadline, particularly the deal to get goaltender Cristobal Huet from Montreal. Huet, who was acquired for a second-round pick in the 2009 draft, has been superb in 13 games with Washington, posting an 11-2-0 record with a 1.63 goals against average and .936 save percentage.

Huet has taken the starting job away from the Caps' longtime franchise goaltender Olaf Kolzig, who turned 38 years old this past Sunday. The 32-year- old Huet is 2-4 lifetime in the playoffs, but posted a solid 2.33 GAA and .929 save percentage in those games.

Veteran forward Sergei Fedorov, a former Hart Trophy winner, also came over from Columbus at the deadline and has notched 13 points in 18 games with the Capitals. Fedorov has loads of playoff experience, having won three Stanley Cup titles in his time with Detroit. The 38-year-old Russian is fourth amongst active players with 163 career playoff points.

Another big piece of the puzzle for the 2007-08 Capitals was the coaching change that saw Bruce Boudreau replace Glen Hanlon as the head coach after 21 games. Washington went just 6-14-1 under Hanlon and 37-17-7 with Boudreau behind the bench.

After Ovechkin, the Capitals top point producers are a rookie and a defenseman.

Nicklas Backstrom, a 20-year-old centerman, has had an excellent first year in the NHL, as he notched 69 points (14 goals, 55 assists) while playing in all 82 games. The young Swede filled a big hole as a playmaking center to pair with Ovechkin after Michael Nylander went down for the season in January with a torn rotator cuff.

Mike Green, a 22-year-old defenseman, is third on Washington in scoring with career highs in goals (18) and assists (38). Green is normally paired with Shaone Morrisonn, who is a physical and imposing presence on the blueline at 6-4, 210 pounds.

The Caps also rely heavily on forward Viktor Kozlov in all situations and the veteran was fourth on the team in scoring with 54 points (16g, 38a). He also ended the season tied for the club lead in plus/minus with Ovechkin as both players were plus-28 for the year.

Third-year winger Alexander Semin had a disappointing year for Washington, but finished second on the team with 26 goals and fifth in points (42). Semin was coming off a 73-point performance (38g, 35a) in the 2006-07 campaign. The 24- year-old Russian missed 19 games due to various injuries, but the Caps hope he can stay healthy and produce this postseason.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (6th seed, East)

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 42-29-11

2007 PLAYOFFS: Failed to qualify

(Sports Network) - The Philadelphia Flyers are back in the playoffs this year after suffering through the worst season in franchise history a year ago.

The 2006-07 edition of the Orange & Black not only missed out on the postseason, but finished last in the NHL for the first time in franchise history. The Flyers' 54 points was also the lowest-ever total for the club.

Changes came early on last season, as head coach Ken Hitchcock was fired and replaced by John Stevens and Paul Holmgren took over as general manager when Bob Clarke resigned.

Holmgren made a handful of moves last year and kept the wheeling and dealing going in the offseason. The club responded with a 41-point improvement in just one year.

Since Holmgren's arrival, the Flyers have added many new faces at goaltender (Martin Biron), forward (Danny Briere, Scott Hartnell, Joffrey Lupul, Vaclav Prospal) and defense (Kimmo Timonen, Jason Smith, Braydon Coburn).

However, the Flyers also benefited from the improved play of highly-touted youngsters Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, who were drafted while Clarke was GM and Holmgren his assistant. Both players had been mild disappointments for the franchise prior to this season, but that changed in 2007-08.

Richards, 23, was Philadelphia's best overall player this year, as he scored a career-high 28 goals and led the team in assists (47) and points (75). He is also the team's top penalty killer and led all Flyers forwards with a plus-14 rating.

The 23-year-old Carter also took a big step forward as he played in all 82 games and he recorded career-highs in goals (29) and assists (24).

Briere, meanwhile, didn't come close to the 95 points he scored with Buffalo in 2006-07, but he managed to lead the Flyers in goals with 31 and was second with 72 points. He really came on in the last month of the season, registering 17 points (9g, 8a) in his final 15 games of the season.

The 30-year-old Briere, who did have a dismal minus-22 rating this year, missed the final two games of the regular season with a knee injury, but is expected to be ready for Game 1 of this series.

The Flyers had a whopping six players with 20 goals or more this season and that doesn't even include Prospal, who had 33 tallies, but only four after coming over from Tampa Bay in a deadline deal. Briere's late-season resurgence also had a great deal to do with playing on a line with Prospal, who had 14 points in 18 games during his second stint with the Flyers.

In addition to Richards, Carter and Briere, Philadelphia also had 20-goal scorers in Mike Knuble (29), Hartnell (24) and Lupul (20).

Biron played in 62 games between the pipes this year -- his most since seeing action in 72 games with Buffalo in 2001-02. The 30-year-old was up and down this year with a 30-20-9 mark, .918 save percentage and 2.59 goals-against average. Biron did end the regular season on a high note, as he came up with two shutouts in his final two outings to help ensure Philly a spot in the postseason.

A pair of Holmgren acquisitions in Timonen and Coburn make up the top defensive pairing for the Flyers.

Timonen's rights were acquired along with Hartnell's in a deal with Nashville last June. Timonen led all Flyers defenseman with 44 points (8g, 36a) and made his third All-Star appearance in the process.

The 23-year-old Coburn was second among Philly defensemen with 36 points (9g, 27a) and was first on the entire club with a plus-17 rating.

The duo of Coburn and Timonen as well as the Flyers scoring depth at forward gave the team have second-best power play unit in the NHL (21.8-percent).

In addition, the Flyers possess some physical defensemen in Smith, the team captain, and Derian Hatcher, who hasn't played since March 15 because of a broken tibia, but is expected back in this series.

MATCHUP

This is one of the more difficult opening-round series to gauge for a couple of different reasons.

First of all is the fact that Washington had to win their last seven games of the regular season to get into the playoffs. Was that frantic postseason push the sign of a team just beginning to get on a roll or did the Caps expend too much energy in reaching the playoffs?

To be fair, the Flyers also had to pull out some big wins near the end of the season just to make the postseason and could be overworked as well.

Another factor is that the Caps play in the Southeast Division, which has supplied two of the last three Stanley Cup champs, but had a down year this season.

Washington was the lone team to make the playoffs from the Southeast, making the division the only one in the NHL that failed to send at least two clubs to the tournament. The Caps also had 16 games this season against Tampa Bay and Atlanta, the bottom two clubs in the Eastern Conference.

But, will any of this really matter if Ovechkin can keep up his torrid scoring pace in the playoffs? In a word, no, but with the lion's share of the focus on Ovechkin, goals could be harder to come by in the playoffs.

Ovechkin had three goals and two assists against the Flyers this year and Philadelphia won the season series against the Caps, posting a slight 2-1-1 edge.

The Capitals have won two of the three all-time playoff series against the Flyers. Washington posted series' wins over Philly in 1984 and 1988, but the Flyers won the last postseason meeting between the clubs in 1989.

Washington has the best player in this series in Ovechkin and is also playing with a newfound confidence thanks to the goaltending of Huet. However, the Flyers scoring depth should eventually win out in what should be tightly- contested series.

Sports Network predicted outcome: Flyers in 7