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Capitals look to stave off elimination

Apr 21, 2008 - 2:23 PM Washington at Philadelphia 7:00 pm EDT Eastern Conference quarterfinals Flyers lead, 3-2

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) - The Washington Capitals still need two consecutive victories to get to the next round of the playoffs, but Sergei Fedorov believes the momentum is now on their side.

Fedorov and the Capitals will hope to ride that momentum and stave off elimination again as they visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday for Game Six of their Eastern Conference series.

One of Washington's key acquisitions at the trade deadline, Fedorov notched a goal and an assist Saturday as the third-seeded Capitals held on for a 3-2 victory over the Flyers in Game Five.

"I think we have certain momentum right now," Fedorov said. "I think maybe those guys (the Flyers) have a wrong thought. They thought, 'Well, if we're not going to get anything done tonight, maybe we can finish at home.' I think that's a dangerous path."

Alexander Semin scored the game-winner on a power play with 5:27 remaining in the third period and rookie Nicklas Backstrom also tallied for the Capitals, who still trail in the series, three games to two.

Washington is attempting to become the 21st team in NHL history to overcome a three-games-to-one deficit.

Vaclav Prospal and blue-liner Derian Hatcher scored for Philadelphia, which lost Game Four hero Mike Knuble for the remainder of the series to a hamstring injury.

Knuble, who scored the game-winner Thursday in the Flyers' 4-3 double-overtime victory, suffered the injury in the second period but took one shift in the third before sitting out the remainder of the contest.

"(It was) bad enough he couldn't play," Flyers coach John Stevens said. "He is a very tough guy, but he was unable to continue with the injury he sustained there. ... He's not going to play in the series, so we're going to have to make some adjustments to our line, bring another player in, have another look at our lines and figure it out."