Isn't it great to be talking some playoff hockey? Even one year off is too many in this town.
We'll have plenty on this series throughout the week, but today we're focusing on Scott Burnside's prediction: that the Flyers are overmatched by the white-hot Capitals, and will lose in six games. By his introductory paragraphs alone, you could tell this prediction was coming. But he does say it will be a great series (he calls it a "dandy"), and forecasts that it will rest on the Flyers young leaders' ability to carry them through a 7-game battle.
Burnside loses us at the end, when he paints the Verizon Center in
DC as an intimidating place to play. Sure, the Caps are winning a lot
at home, but every time the Flyers play there, you can hear the "LGF"
chants over the TV broadcast, and when we're not talking about playoff
hockey, they can't even fill the place.
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We agree with Scott's key matchup: Marty Biron vs. Christobal Huet.
There's very little playoff experience here, with Marty having logged
zero postseason starts and Huet only 6. We've seen highs and lows from
Biron this season, but he's hot right now, riding two shutouts into the
playoffs. Huet's no joke (even if the trade that brought him to the
Caps was), and it's going to take some smart shooting to solve him.
Can the Flyers, with 7 players having more than 20 goals, throw
enough fire power at the Caps to beat Huet and counter the inevitable
offensive onslaught of Alex Ovechkin? You're damn right they can.