At the end of last night's playoff game between Washington and Philadelphia, it was easy for one to get lost in the excitement. After a five-year absence from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the locals were getting their playoff sea legs back with a vengeance, raising the decibel level inside Verizon Center to a place it hadn't been since the magical ride to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998.And as the locals screamed in response to a third period comeback keyed by young stars Mike Green and Alex Ovechkin, you might be forgiven for overlooking the workmanlike performance of Matt Bradley. But if you did, it would be a mistake.
If you take a look at his numbers during the regular season, there doesn't seem a lot to be impressed with -- just seven goals and 11 assists. But hockey is a game where numbers can deceive almost as often as they clarify, and such is the case with Bradley, a player whose speed, energy and willingness to attack on the forecheck have proven to be invaluable.
Bradley's willingness to sacrifice for his teammates doesn't end there. Interestingly enough, on a team where Donald Brashear's fists get all of the headlines, Bradley wound up dropping his gloves almost as often this season, ringing up 10 fighting majors to Brashear's 12. The one incident that sent my respect level for Bradley through the roof came on March 8, when the Caps and Bruins played a return engagement after Washington had leveled the Bruins at home, 10-2, only a few days before.
Wanting to set the tone early, Boston rookie Milan Lucic, all 6'4" and 220 pounds, decided to take his rage out on Bradley, only 6'2" and 200 pounds. Though hockey's unwritten code would have demanded that a heavyweight like Lucic fight Brashear and not Bradley, the Washington winger hung in there and never turtled.
In Game One last night in Washington, everything that's right about Bradley's game was on display. Before the series, plenty of observers projected that it would be the more physical Flyers who would dominate Washington, but a look at the numbers last night shows that Washington gave as good as it got, outhitting Philly 40-36. Bradley had seven of those, behind only Ovechkin's eight.
Bradley is at his most effective in deep, along the boards and attacking the opposition. That's just where he did his damage early on the scoresheet. In the first period, battling along the left wing boards, he flipped the puck back to the point to Tom Poti, who put it on net. Just a moment later, Brashear collected the puck and put it past Martin Biron for a 1-0 lead.
In the second period Bradley had a hand in another goal. This time he was in deep again, except along the right wing boards. And one more time, he flipped the puck behind his back to David Steckel, who wristed a shot past Biron for a 2-1 lead.
Two assists. +1. Seven hits. All in a little more than 12 minutes of ice time, better than two minutes more than he averaged during the regular season.
It was a good night. And Washington will need more than a few more nights like this one from Bradley if they want to go deep into the playoffs.
Previously on FanHouse:
In Praise of Dean McAmmond
