Rock-solid Neuvirth keeps it alive
Flyers goalie makes 44 saves to blank Capitals, taking series back to Philadelphia for Game 6
WASHINGTON As captain of the Philadelphia Flyers, Claude Giroux had put it upon himself to make a bigger impact with his team’s season on the line.
Michal Neuvirth scuttled those plans.
The Flyers’ goaltender put on a playoff performance for the ages on Friday night, saving, stopping and stealing his way to a shutout as Philadelphia put another dent in the Washington Capitals’ desire to advance to the second round.
Neuvirth was terrific, making 44 saves in a 2-0 victory in Game 5 at the Verizon Center.
The Caps lead the Eastern Conference best-of-seven 3-2, but will be feeling some heat after losing the past two. Washington, in its run to the Presidents’ Trophy in 2015-16, did not lose back-to-back games in regulation during the regular season.
That has happened now, and a lot of it is on Neuvirth, who has made 75 saves in a pair of wins and allowed one goal after taking over from Steve Mason to start Game 4.
“Not like that,” Giroux said when he was asked if had seen a goaltending display like the one Neuvirth had put on. “Not live. It was pretty impressive. They were shooting pucks from everywhere.”
To further the point that the Flyers likely would be booking tee times for next week if not for Neuvirth, we should remind you that Philadelphia set a team record by winning with 11 shots on goal. It’s the fewest the Flyers have recorded in a game in the regular season or the playoffs in their storied history.
The Flyers scored in the second period when a Ryan White attempt bounced in off the skate of defenceman Taylor Chorney; the second goal came with 31 seconds remaining from Chris VandeVelde, who put the puck into an empty Capitals net as goaltender Braden Holtby watched from the bench.
It was all Neuvirth could do to catch his breath, but the 28-yearold, drafted by the Capitals in 2006 and in the organization until 2014, was ho-hum about the whole thing afterward. And honest.
“Last year, I was with Buffalo (until being traded to the New York Islanders), and I was facing lots of shots, so I’m kind of used to it,” Neuvirth said.
“I like to face a lot of shots. It keeps me in the game. We’re still down in the series and we have a lot of work to do.”
Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin led all players with eight shots on goal and eight hits, yet others were shaking their heads after saves by Neuvirth. Jay Beagle, Marcus Johansson, T.J. Oshie, all of them were robbed at some point.
Washington coach Barry Trotz said he was going to stay up most of the night (we don’t think he was joking) to analyze the game video and try to come up with adjustments that can be made for Game 6 in Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon.
He’s not going to find many areas for improvement. The Capitals had 82 shot attempts. The Flyers had 27.
“What are you going to say?” Trotz said. “Keep playing that way and it will turn.
“We have to go into Philadelphia and we have to play really well and get a win there. If we don’t accomplish that, then we will go to Game 7. I thought we played excellent.”
Was there a lot more to loss than Neuvirth’s goaltending?
“No, that’s pretty well it,” Trotz said.
Perhaps, but the Caps know they can be more disciplined, especially veteran Justin Williams, in Game 6. Still, Washington took only one penalty after the six-minute mark of the second period.
The Flyers, who will have the backing of a raucous Wells Fargo Center on Sunday, know that relying only on goaltending to win games is foolish.
“(The Capitals) played a hell of a hockey game,” Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. “Neuvy was our best player, but we jumped on board. There is no way I can downplay his performance. I wouldn’t want to do that. Whether it is your goaltender or somebody else laying it on the line, that has a way of boosting your bench.”