Caps fans who love pouring over shots-on-goal statistics - and really, who doesn't? - should pay special attention to games with Philadelphia.(Okay, non-stat geeks may be excused from the remainder of this post.)
These nuggets are culled from research done by "Miami Screaming Eagles", a moderator on the Hockey's Future message boards:
• The Flyers held the Capitals to a franchise-low 7 shots in a 1978 game.
• The Capitals held the Flyers to a franchise-low 13 shots in a 1990 game.
• The shot-clock operator may have had his thumb on the scale on March 7, 1982. Make that both thumbs. The final total was exactly 45 shots apiece in Philly's 7-1 win.• Yet quantity doesn't always equal quality. Washington's first win in the rivalry was a 6-0 shutout authored by Mike Palmateer on Dec. 21, 1980 - despite 44 Philadelphia shots.
• The Flyers took 62 shots in a 1976 game; the Capitals responded with 52 in a 1988 tilt.
For wading through those numbers, enjoy a bonus Flyers-Caps factoid: In a January 9, 1986 contest, the winning goalie was Jensen (Darren), and the losing goalie was Jensen (Al), as the Caps fell, 4-0.