Game 2 Notes: Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers

 The Caps were able to take Game 1 on Thursday, and tonight they return to the friendly confines of Verizon Center to try to take a two game lead over the Flyers. Here is the projected lineup for Game 2.

Forwards:

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Oshie
Burakovsky-Kuznetsov-Williams
Chimera-Richards-Johansson
Winnik-Beagle-Wilson

Defense and Goalies:

Orpik-Carlson
Alzner-Niskanen
Orlov-Schmidt

Holtby
Grubauer


Other Notes:

*The bigs new for Game 2, Sean Couturier will be out for the rest of the series. That means the Flyers will have to rely on Braden Schenn to play a top six center role. Which personally I like the matchup for all the Caps centers.

*Braden Holtby was great in Game 1, and if he continues to play that way it will make it tough for the Flyers.

*One thing the Caps have to change tonight is that they need to stay out of the penalty box. They took too many in Game 1, and even though the penalty kill has been great it is not something you want to continue as the series continues.

*I also expect more antics from the Orange and Black tonight. However, the Caps have to be patient and just keep playing. If they keep plugging away and skate away from the nonsense then it will be a huge advantage for the Caps.

*Caps have to be ready for a big effort from Wayne Simmonds tonight, he was tossed from the game along with Tom Wilson with a little over 6 minutes left in the game. That also took a power play away from the Flyers when Simmonds retaliated after Wilson made a hit. I know Simmonds will bring his "A" game tonight.

*When the Caps get power plays tonight they need to shot the puck like they did in Game 1. Most of the power plays the Caps had they put a lot of shots towards Steve Mason.

*Overall I think if the Caps stay patient and get pucks to the net they will score more that they did in Game 1, also if they continue to have the commitment defensively then I also think they can make life difficult for the Flyers big guns. We will see if the Caps can take a 2 game lead into Philly, or if the Flyers respond.


Gametime 7:00 p.m on CSN