Playoff Series Analysis: Washinton vs Philadelphia

VS

SEASON SERIES:
Flyers win 2-1-1

Statistical keys to the series (Courtesy of TSN.ca)

- Washington ranked 10th in the league on the power play, with an 18.8% success rate. Philadelphia ranked second at 21.8%.

- Washington ranked 25th in the league in penalty killing, with an 80.5% success rate. Philadelphia ranked 10th at 83.2%.

- Washington tied for fifth in the league with 31.0 shots on goal per game.

- Washington's Alexander Ovechin led the league with 65 goals.

- Washington's Alexander Ovechkin led the league with 112 points.

- Washington's Alexander Ovechkin led the league with 22 power play goals.

- Philadelphia's Mike Richards tied for third in the league with 5 shorthanded goals.

- Washington's Alexander Ovechkin led the league with 11 game-winning goals.

- Alexander Ovechkin (220), Matt Cooke (198) and Milan Jurcina (151) are the Capitals' leading hitters. Cooke's totals include stats with Vancouver.

- Jason Smith (142), Scott Hartnell (110) and Mike Richards (110) are the Flyers' leading hitters.

- David Steckel is the Capitals' top face-off man -- 56.3%.

- Jim Dowd is the Flyers' top face-off man -- 53.8%.

- Nicklas Backstrom led the Capitals with six points in four games against the Flyers this year.

- Scottie Upshall led the Flyers with five points in four games against the Capitals this year.

- Washington's leaders in power play ice time (per game):
Alexander Ovechkin 5:40
Michael Nylander 5:14
Mike Green 4:41
Alexander Semin 4:28
Nicklas Backstrom 4:02
Sergei Fedorov 3:54
* - Fedorov's numbers include stats with Columbus.

- Philadelphia's leaders in power play ice time (per game):
Kimmo Timonen 4:56
Mike Richards 4:52
Daniel Briere 4:51
Simon Gagne 4:37
Mike Knuble 4:28
Joffrey Lupul 3:38

- Washington's leaders in penalty killing ice time (per game):
Boyd Gordon 4:00
Tom Poti 3:49
David Steckel 3:46
Shaone Morissonn 3:25
Jeff Schultz 3:10
Quintin Laing 2:50

- Philadelphia's leaders in penalty killing ice time (per game):
Derian Hatcher 3:54
Mike Richards 3:17
Kimmo Timonen 3:09
Jason Smith 2:54
Jaroslav Modry 2:43
R.J. Umberger 2:34
- Modry's numbers include stats with Los Angeles.

Ovechkin is a hell of a guy to have to handle. The Capitals hopes rest squarely on his shoulders. While Huet has been hot ever since the trade that sent him from Montreal to Washington, as any Habs fan will tell you, you can't rely on him to steal you a series. Having said that, if any team can shut down Alex the Great, it might just be the Philadelphia Flyers. With a reputation for being just a little rough around the edges, maybe even, dare I say it...dirty, the Flyers could have the secret ingredient to success against Washington.

Remember the World Junior Championships a couple of years ago? Crosby's Team Canada vs Ovechkin's Team Russia. How did Canada handle him? They pounded him into the boards until he left the game with a shoulder injury. Now, he's matured a lot since then, and no one will ever knock him for his physical play, but if the Flyers made a concerted effort to rough Ovechkin up, it may be their best shot at advancing.

Ovechkin can single handedly win games, but it remains to be seen if he can single handedly win a series.


X-FACTOR'S PREDICTION: Philadelphia in 6.