Washington Capitals Eliminate Philadelphia Flyers in Six Games

The Washington Capitals have moved to the second round after they defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 in Game 6.

They will face the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round.

Officiating caused more controversy after they called a double minor high-sticking penalty on Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom against Flyers forward Ryan White, but replays show White’s teammate Chris VandeVelde committed the penalty.

Five seconds later, they caused another uproar when they called Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen for hooking against Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds. The replay also showed Niskanen committed a decent defensive play.

To make matters worse for them, they called White for holding the stick of Niskanen.

Neither team scored on their power plays.

However, Backstrom scored the only goal of the game on a one timer from a svelte pass from captain Alex Ovechkin in the second period.

Ovechkin literally skipped to Backstrom.

It was the first shot past goalie Michal Neuvirth. He shut out the Capitals in Game 5 even though he faced 44 shots.

But the Flyers looked as if they were not ready to hit the golf course quite yet. They came out in the third period, throwing their bodies and gobbling the puck when they could. But Capitals goalie Braden Holtby remained sharp and did not allow any shots to slip past him.

“It’s a different group. The past is a different regime,” he said after the game. “We are trying to write our own history.”

Holtby won his 20th game in the playoffs, “tying Olie Kolzig for most in Capitals history.” It was also his second shut out in the series.