The series started the same way it ended. Special teams, notably the power play, couldn't get the job done and a great goaltending effort silenced the Flyers. This time, it was for good.
The Washington Capitals advanced to the second round of the playoffs with a 1-0 shutout win over the Flyers on Sunday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers survived the first 10 minutes of the period with some strong shifts and good physical play. But discipline put the Flyers on their heels late in the period.
The Capitals had two power-play chances in the period. They took three shots on a man-advantage with Claude Giroux in the box for hooking and got a 5-on-3 for 1:09 in the final minute of the period. The Flyers killed off the first 56 seconds of that two-man advantage as the period ended.
The Flyers opened the second killing off the remaining penalty time and got a golden opportunity of their own. Nicklas Backstrom took a four-minute high-sticking penalty, then Matt Niskanen took a hooking penalty, giving the Flyers two minutes of 5-on-3 time.
The first penalty came and went and then Ryan White took a holding the stick penalty to negate the remaining 1:30 of power play time the Flyers had left.
With the opportunity wasted, the Capitals took advantage of a Flyers miscue at the end of a penalty kill. Backstrom was on the receiving end of a great pass from Marcus Johansson on a 2-on-1 down low. He buried the one-timer past Michal Neuvirth to give Washington the lead.
The Flyers started to apply pressure late in the second, but still struggled to get shots through. After two periods, Washington had a 23-15 shot advantage.
The Flyers finally started to turn up the pressure in the third period, but as the Capitals do so well, the defense clamped down and silenced almost all of the Flyers chances.
Braden Holtby finished off a 26-save shutout to close out the series. He allowed five goals in the entire six-game series. Neuvirth turned in another stellar effort to close the season, making 28 saves.
Box Score
| 1 | 2 | 3 | T | |
| Capitals | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Flyers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring Summary
| 1st Period | |||
| No Scoring | |||
| 2nd Period | |||
| WSH | Nicklas Backstrom (2) | Marcus Johansson, Alex Ovechkin | 8:59 |
| 3rd Period | |||
| No Scoring | |||
Penalty Summary
| 1st Period | |||
| PHI | Claude Giroux | 2:00 Hooking | 13:18 |
| PHI | Wayne Simmonds | 2:00 Slashing | 18:13 |
| PHI | Andrew MacDonald | 2:00 High-Sticking | 19:03 |
| 2nd Period | |||
| WSH | Nicklas Backstrom | 4:00 High-Sticking | 4:25 |
| WSH | Matt Niskanen | 2:00 Hooking | 4:30 |
| PHI | Ryan White | 2:00 Holding the Stick | 6:55 |
| 3rd Period | |||
| PHI | Sam Gagner | 2:00 Hooking | 1:23 |
Game Statistics
| Capitals | Flyers | |
| Shots | 29 | 26 |
| Power Plays | 0/5 | 0/3 |
| Hits | 32 | 38 |
| Faceoff % | 41% | 59% |
| Giveaways | 13 | 14 |
| Takeaways | 10 | 7 |
| Blocked Shots | 16 | 21 |
| Penalty Minutes | 6 | 10 |
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
