The Fifth Liners

The Washington Capitals should no signs of fading in the absence of star player Alexander Ovechkin last night as they hammered the Philadelphia Flyers 7-0 at the Wells Fargo Center! Things almost got off the wrong start for the visiting capitals when Steve Downie, who was making his debut after arriving from the Colorado Avalanche in mid week, almost beat Capitals goalie Braden Holtby in the opening seconds! But Niklas Backstrom got the party started when after he rifled a shot past Steve Mason after 17.28 to put the away side in front! But it was in the second period that the Capitals should their offensive capabilities and a five goal flurry would soon follow- Joel Ward pushed the advantage to 2-0 after less than 1.24 of the second before Jim Chimera made it three on a breakaway! After Steve Mason's poor display, he was pulled from net shortly after the third goal and replaced by back up Ray Emery. Sadly Emery would fare just as worse when Backstrom grabbed his second off...

Mike's question this week focuses on our friends in the city of brotherly love, as it was asked "The Flyers glory days seem to be long gone. What can they do to be a serious cup threat again?" Well the answer to this one will be require some serious thought- right let's go to work! The Philadelphia Flyers are a team with a famous history with the 'Broad Street Bullies' team including Bobby Clarke, Dave Schultz, Joe Kelly and Bernie Parent which brought them back to back Stanley Cups in 1975 & 1976, to the Eric Lindros years from 92 to 98 where he continually led the league in scoring. Their last cup final appearence came back in 2010 where they were narrowly beaten in six games by the Chicago Blackhawks. But last season was one to forget for the men in orange as they finished fourth in the Atlantic Division and 10 in the Eastern Conference, missing the playoffs for only the ninth time in their history! Also things werent helped by the poor net minding ...