Dream Over: Flyers 4, Caps 3 in Overtime

The arena is beyond loud, the press box is full and the red is rocking!

First Period
The Caps came out with abandon, clearly taking it to the Flyers -- who were very tentative. Their aggression paid off when they drew a pair of penalties to give them a 48-second, two-man advantage.

The Caps turned up the pressure on the extra-man advantage and their hard work paid off. Alex Ovechkin fired a slapper from the point. The puck went wide but it caromed off the end boards right to a waiting Nicklas Backstrom, who fired it into the net before Martin Biron could do anything.

The ensuing five-on-four didn't really yield anything, but the Caps did keep on the pressure. In fact, they were able to complete an entire line change while not leaving the zone. However, at the end of that change, Alex Semin was called for hooking and the trouble began.

The Flyers evened the score on a shot by Scottie Upshall that was initially stopped by Cristobal Huet, but trickled through his legs to tie the game at one.

The Flyers then got a four-minute power play (at the 16-minute mark) when Sergei Fedorov was uncharacteristically called for high sticking, and the Caps seemed to be in worse shape when Dave Steckel was whistled for hooking 18 seconds later.

But the Caps turned a negative to a positive yet again, killed off all of the penalties and bringing Uncle Mo back to their side of the ledger. The "ref you suck" chants also were loud during the Flyers' power play.

The Caps' penalty kill was very aggressive and the Flyers missed a bunch of very good opportunities. Huet also deserves a ton of credit as he made series of excellent saves during the last four minutes of the period.

After one: Caps 1, Flyers 1

Second Period
The Caps returned to their aggressive selves at the start of the second stanza and even earned and early power play. But both were short-lived as Fedorov returned to the sin bin. The Flyers were unable to convert on the power play or during four-on-four, but they did strike not too much later in a very controversial manner.

As the game began to open up, Biron passed the puck up to Patrick Thoresen who shot the puck and then plowed over Shaone Morrisonn and Huet, drawing loud boos -- which got louder after Sami Kapanen put the puck into the net. The "ref you suck" chants hit a fever pitch.

The Caps then began to turn the tide. First, they went back on the power play at 13:27 after Steve Downie was called for his second hooking penalty of the period. Although the Caps didn't score with the extra man, they did spend most of the two minutes in the Flyers' zone and had a bunch of great opportunities.

But once again Ovie saved the day. After the puck went out of the offensive zone as the power play was expiring, Viktor Kozlov passed it quickly to Brooks Laich -- who found Alex Ovechkin breaking towards the net. Alex the Great unleashed a wicked wrister past Biron to tie the game and cause the crowd to go wild yet again.

After two: Caps 2, Flyers 2

Third Period
The hitting and scoring opportunities picked up as the final (regulation) stanza began. Neither team scored but both had quality opportunities and both delivered some big blows.

As the period progressed, the feeling that overtime already had started. The teams continued to trade barbs, big hits, good scoring chances and tough play.

It's so hard to describe play that is so intense, a crowd that is so loud and into the game, and an atmosphere that is beyond comparison.

But as the period wore on and on, the Caps began to unleash the fury. Their scoring chances increased and their pressure increased. As my neighbor in the press box put it, Biron was living on borrowed time.

Biron managed to make just enough saves to extend the game. The Flyers had their offensive chances too but the Caps clearly were the better team, outshooting their opponents by a whopping 16-5 margin. The prettiest play was a A.O. slap pass that just went beyond Fedorov's reach with about two minutes remaining.

End of three: Caps 2, Flyers 2

Overtime
This is when heroes are made and when legends are born. In a game seven extra session, one team's season might end on a fluke and definitely only one team will go home happy.

Sensing that inevitability, the crowd (and the press box) remained on its feet throughout the entire extra session. The fervor of the third period continued into overtime, with the Caps putting on the pressure and the Flyers seemingly happy with a counter attack strategy, albeit a very dangerous one.

The turning point came at 4:15 when Tom Poti was called for tripping as the Flyers were about to embark on a breakaway. The Caps' PK was strong again and Huet provided the backbone with several stellar saves, with the mandatory Flyers' traffic crashing the net.

Unfortunately for the Caps, they couldn't kill off the entire two minutes and that's how the season ended for the Caps. Timonen fired a slapper from the point and Joffrey Lupul deposited it past a sprawling Huet for the clincher. The Flyers celebrated wildly as the Caps marched off the ice, which was littered with anything fans could throw on it.

Final: Flyers 4, Caps 3 (OT)