Hartnell, Niittymaki help Flyers smother Capitals

Hockey Betting Lines

12/20/2008 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scott Hartnell had a hat trick and Antero Niittymaki finished the game with 47 saves as the Philadelphia Flyers crushed the Washington Capitals, 7-1, at the Wachovia Center.

Jeff Carter had two goals and two assists while Joffrey Lupul added a goal and three assists for the Flyers, who have won six of their last seven games.

Brooks Laich scored the lone goal for the Capitals, who had a five-game winning streak stopped. Brent Johnson started the game in net, but was pulled after two periods as he gave up three goals on 13 shots. Jose Theodore, though, fared little better between the pipes as he gave up four goals on 15 shots.

Philadelphia grabbed the lead early in the first period as Hartnell moved up the ice and from the middle of the blueline fed the puck over to Lupul, who beat a defender and from the right circle fired a shot past Johnson at the 4:29 mark.

It was Niittymaki, though, who was the star of the first period as Washington threw shots on net from everywhere and the goaltender stopped all 25 shots he saw.

His best save came near the midway mark of the frame while Washington was on the power play as he flashed the glove on an Alexander Ovechkin one-timer from the left circle.

The 25 shots on net set team records for Philadelphia and Washington. It was the most shots allowed on net in one period at home for Philadelphia while it was the most shots in a road game for Washington.

The Capitals continued to pepper Niittymaki with shots in the second period as the team got 14 on net, but it was the Flyers who were able to find the back of the net.

With the puck in his own end, Lupul sprung Carter with a pass through the neutral zone. Carter skated into the Washington end and from the left circle used the defender as a screen on a wrister past Johnson with 4:49 left in the frame.

Just 54 seconds later, Carter scored again on a shorthanded goal. The team pressured the puck-holder at the left point and Braydon Coburn wound up with the disc. He sprung Carter on the breakaway and Carter calmly lifted a backhander past Johnson.

Just 4:45 into the third, Philadelphia took a 4-0 lead as Hartnell caused a turnover with a hit behind the net and centered the puck for Lupul, whose one- timer was stopped, but Hartnell slammed the rebound home from the right side.

Washington, though, got on the board just 24 seconds later as Laich went from the forehand to the backhand and got the puck past Niittymaki.

On the power play, Philadelphia got the goal back as Matt Carle's one-timer from the right circle was stopped by Theodore, but the puck popped into the air and Hartnell whacked it home at the 7:29 mark.

The Flyers then made it a 6-1 game with a 5-on-3 power-play goal as Carter fired a pass from the left side to the right where Simon Gagne had the easy dunk into the net with 10:41 to play.

Hartnell gained the hat trick with 3:35 left in the game as he finished a tic- tac-toe play.

Game Notes

The 25 shots on net in the first period tied a franchise record for the Capitals which it set on February 3, 1998 against Tampa Bay in Washington... The most ever shots allowed in one period by Philadelphia was 32, which occurred in the first period of a game in Minnesota on December 13, 1972... Philadelphia plays in New Jersey on Sunday...Washington plays against the Rangers in New York on Tuesday...Philadelphia went 2-for-5 on the power play and scored its league-leading 13th shorthanded goal of the season...Philadelphia has not lost a game at home in regulation since November 8 against Tampa Bay and is 9-0-2 since at Wachovia.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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