The NHL is gracing us with two Game 7s on Tuesday night. The first one is Flyers at Capitals, which will be the second time the teams will have played in 24 hours; Washington is a -155 money line betting favorite (over/under: 5.5) on WagerWeb.com.
Washington defeated Philadelphia 4-2 on Monday night to force the Game 7. It was the second time in the series the Capitals rallied from a two-goal deficit and won on an Alex Ovechkin goal.
Ovechkin had owned the Flyers in the regular season, with 12 goals in 12 career regular-season games. But after scoring the winner in the first playoff game this season, Ovechkin had had 24 straight shots and no goals before Monday night's two-goal outburst. Monday's game marked the first time in the series that the team that scored first did not win the game.
"He works so hard but I was so happy for him because I could see he was getting a little frustrated because they were doing such as good job on him,' Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said of his superstar.
Washington poured 40 shots on Flyers goaltender Martin Biron in Game 6, the most the Caps have mustered in any regulation game in the series. After firing 13 shots on goal in the first four games of the series, Ovechkin has launched 15 on net in the last two.
The Flyers will need better goaltending from Biron - who has allowed at least three goals in every game but Game 2 - if they're to advance to the next round. But he'll have to reverse a negative trend. Biron is 0-5 on the second night of back-to-back starts this season.
Biron is 8-21-6 with a 3.30 goals against average and an .879 save pct. lifetime in the second of starts on back-to-back nights. He is 5-17-3 with a 3.52 goals against average and an .869 save pct. when the second of those back-to-back starts comes on the road.
Caps goalie Cristobal Huet is 2-8-2 during his career when starting the second of consecutive starts on back-to-back nights. He has a 3.24 goals against average and an .899 save pct. in such situations.The Caps were 8-7-3 in the second of back-to-back games during the regular season; the Flyers were 7-8-2.
Philadelphia's offense has been led in the playoffs by Daniel Briere, who leads all postseason scorers with six goals and 10 points. Vaclav Prospal scored twice in the series opener, but has scored just once since, and Mike Knuble -- who had five points in the series -- has been ruled out for the series with a torn hamstring suffered in Game 5.
Washington is trying to become the 21st team in league history to come back after being down 3-1 and win a best-of-seven series. The Caps will be playing their first Game 7 in almost 12 years and the first Game 7 on Washington home ice since May 1, 1992.
The Capitals have won only one Game 7 in their history; the other time Washington rallied from a 3-1 hole was 20 years ago this month against Philadelphia.
Philadelphia, which is 6-6 in Game 7s, has lost two playoff series after leading 3-1. The Flyers are 1-3 in Game 7s on the road, with their only win coming at Pittsburgh in a second-round series in 1989.
If the Capitals win Game 7, one of the NHL's biggest fantasies becomes reality: Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby in a playoff series. Washington would face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round. If the Flyers win, they face the Montreal Canadiens.
Betting trends: Flyers are 3-8 in their last 11 road games. ... Caps are 8-1 in their last 9 home games. ... Caps are 8-1 in their last 9 games following a win. ... Under is 16-5 in Caps' last 21 home games. ... Over is 7-2 in the last 9 meetings. ... Flyers are 4-9-1 in the last 14 meetings.
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