#2 WASHINGTONG CAPITALS (3-3) over the #4 PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (3-3) 5-4 OT
Redemption! Steckel’s OT Goal Sinks Penguins
By Christopher Carrano
Say what you want about the Washington Capital’s playoff woes, but with their disheartening post-season history staring them in the face, the Capitals didn’t blink. Washington shoved that all aside, if only for one more night, and left the city of Pittsburgh with an exhilarating 5-4 overtime victory over their nemesis. David Steckel redeemed himself of his wide open miss in overtime of game five, by tipping in Brooks Laich’s shot at 6:26 of the extra period. This series now heads back to Washington on Wednesday night for a decisive game 7. "I think it's going to be great game," said Alexander Ovechkin. "I think the league wants us to play Game 7 [on Wednesday]."
The hometown fans all decked out in white cheered as Bill Guerin put the men in black up early when he, with the help of Sidney Crosby in a 2 on 1 situation, scored at 5:55 to give the Penguins an early 1-0 lead. As has been the custom in this series, with the exception of game five, the team that scores first has gone on to lose the game. Pittsburgh left the period with their lead intact as Washington stumbled out of the gate, having been out shot 18-5 by the Penguins.
Things became interesting in the second period when Viktor Kozlov scored one of his two goals at 6:27. Kozlov placed a wrist shot to the top right of the goal to tie the game. The Capitals took the lead when Thomas Fleischmann skated hard to the net and Penguins goalie Marc Andre Fleury made a stick save on his scoring attempt. That save however, resulted in Fleury losing his stick and the rebound finding its way back to Fleischmann who put it away as Fleury scrambled around to try and make the save. Mark Eaton tied the game on a power play with thirty seconds left to play in the period. It was Eaton’s fourth goal of the playoffs, as many as he had in 68 games during the regular season.
Believe it or not, this game became more compelling during the third period as there were two lead changes to go along with three goals scored in a span of a minute and a half. Kris Letang rifled a shot from the left face-off dot past a screened Simeon Varlamov to regain the lead for the Penguins at 4:40. The Capitals stormed right back on goals from Alexander Semin and Viktor Kozlov just twenty-nine seconds apart. Capitals defenseman Brooks Laich set up a screen in front of Marc Andre Fleury, bewildering him as Semin’s shot slid by and into the goal. Kozlov managed to score when Penguins defenseman, Hal Gill, ended up behind Fleury in the paint, preventing him from making the save. Kozlov’s soft wrister came from the left side of the goal and deflected off Fleury’s skate and into the net. The Penguin’s own academy award winning actor, Sidney Crosby, tied the game at 4 when he conducted a covert operation deep in Washington’s defensive zone. After Rob Scuderi launched a shot towards the net, Crosby happened to be in the right place at the right time as he snuck up by the crease and tapped the puck into the goal. For the third time in this series the game would head into overtime.
"That's been really the way the series has worked out," said Crosby. "It's been tight hockey. Both teams realize the importance of staying within striking distance. Teams that are up realize the importance of getting that two-goal lead. Everyone is desperate, everyone realizes the weight of the situation.”
At 66:26 David Steckel won a crucial face-off and in the process broke Penguins center Maxime Talbot’s stick. Steckel then took off towards the goal where he was in position to deflect Brooks Laich’s slap shot past a stunned Marc Andre Fleury. "I told myself if I had a chance again, I wouldn't miss," Steckel said. "I was in the right place at the right time. I personally didn't know where it went or anything. ... It was the biggest goal of my career so I didn't know what to do. I just jumped around." The last time a Capital player scored an overtime goal in Pittsburgh was in 2002 when Jeff Halpern did it.
Alexander Ovechkin, always casting an imposing shadow on the ice, did not score a goal but he did manage to have three assists. "It's always fun when Ovie scores, but it's hard because the other team pays a lot of attention and is very close to Ovie, so it's a good thing other people give us goals," Viktor Kozlov said. Kozlov had a stellar night himself, scoring two goals and being named the game’s first star. Washington’s rookie goaltender, Simeon Varlamov, made 38 saves, 17 of them in first period.
These two teams will meet one more time at the Verizon Center on Wednesday night as this clash of the NHL titans goes the distance.
Information from the AP, Washington Post and Pittsburgh Gazette was used in this story.
Hard Hits…A pivotal moment in this game came in the first period when the Capitals killed a 5 on 3 Penguins power play. Washington was so sluggish in that period that they only managed five shots on goal. On the other hand, Pittsburgh controlled the puck most of the period and blasted Simeon Varlamov with 18 shots. It’s amazing that they could not score another goal with the way they were playing. A goal there and maybe we would be seeing handshakes at the end of this game instead of dejected Penguin fans leaving the Mellon Arena…So far in this series, the television ratings have been up. FSN Pittsburgh earned a massive 21.38 rating for Saturday's Game 5, the highest-rated NHL game on any FSN regional sports network. Versus recorded a 1.2 rating during its national telecast of Game 2, making that the highest-rated and most-watched second-round game on cable since 2002. While I’m happy to hear this, I’m surprised that more people aren’t into hockey. I know people who love playoff hockey and there is nothing else like it in any other sport (maybe the World Cup comes close, but that’s every four years), but regular season hockey is just as exciting. I hope more people start catching on to it. I think Versus has done a tremendous job of covering the game but its just unfortunate that a good chunk of our country does not get that channel. If the NHL wants to increase it’s TV ratings, it needs a broadcast partner that can commit to hockey coverage as well as one that most of the country can get. It baffles my mind how only one of these games between Washington and Pittsburgh was shown on national television…Tonight marked the first time that Marc Andre Fleury has lost an overtime playoff game. His record fell to 5-1…This is the third consecutive post-season series that Washington has faced elimination before going on to force a Game 7. All Game 7’s will have taken place in Washington. The Capitals are 2-5 lifetime in Game 7’s. The last time they played in two Game 7’s was in the 1987-88 season when they beat the Flyers in round 1 before losing to the Devils in round 2.
Title Fight: Crosby vs. Ovechkin
Round 6
Crosby- 1 Goal, 1 Assist, +1, 6 Shots on Goal, 1 Hit, 23:07 Time on Ice
Ovechkin- 0 Goals, 3 Assists, +3, 5 Shots on Goal, 2 Hits, 25:52 Time on Ice
Result: Although both players weren’t their usually imposing selves on the ice tonight, they both managed to find the score sheet more than once and they were both named as the other two stars of the game. Crosby and Ovechkin did what they needed to do to keep their teams in the game. I have to rule this round a draw, but Ovie still leads in the cards 48-47. The final round is Wednesday night.
Redemption! Steckel’s OT Goal Sinks Penguins
By Christopher Carrano
Say what you want about the Washington Capital’s playoff woes, but with their disheartening post-season history staring them in the face, the Capitals didn’t blink. Washington shoved that all aside, if only for one more night, and left the city of Pittsburgh with an exhilarating 5-4 overtime victory over their nemesis. David Steckel redeemed himself of his wide open miss in overtime of game five, by tipping in Brooks Laich’s shot at 6:26 of the extra period. This series now heads back to Washington on Wednesday night for a decisive game 7. "I think it's going to be great game," said Alexander Ovechkin. "I think the league wants us to play Game 7 [on Wednesday]."
The hometown fans all decked out in white cheered as Bill Guerin put the men in black up early when he, with the help of Sidney Crosby in a 2 on 1 situation, scored at 5:55 to give the Penguins an early 1-0 lead. As has been the custom in this series, with the exception of game five, the team that scores first has gone on to lose the game. Pittsburgh left the period with their lead intact as Washington stumbled out of the gate, having been out shot 18-5 by the Penguins.
Things became interesting in the second period when Viktor Kozlov scored one of his two goals at 6:27. Kozlov placed a wrist shot to the top right of the goal to tie the game. The Capitals took the lead when Thomas Fleischmann skated hard to the net and Penguins goalie Marc Andre Fleury made a stick save on his scoring attempt. That save however, resulted in Fleury losing his stick and the rebound finding its way back to Fleischmann who put it away as Fleury scrambled around to try and make the save. Mark Eaton tied the game on a power play with thirty seconds left to play in the period. It was Eaton’s fourth goal of the playoffs, as many as he had in 68 games during the regular season.
Believe it or not, this game became more compelling during the third period as there were two lead changes to go along with three goals scored in a span of a minute and a half. Kris Letang rifled a shot from the left face-off dot past a screened Simeon Varlamov to regain the lead for the Penguins at 4:40. The Capitals stormed right back on goals from Alexander Semin and Viktor Kozlov just twenty-nine seconds apart. Capitals defenseman Brooks Laich set up a screen in front of Marc Andre Fleury, bewildering him as Semin’s shot slid by and into the goal. Kozlov managed to score when Penguins defenseman, Hal Gill, ended up behind Fleury in the paint, preventing him from making the save. Kozlov’s soft wrister came from the left side of the goal and deflected off Fleury’s skate and into the net. The Penguin’s own academy award winning actor, Sidney Crosby, tied the game at 4 when he conducted a covert operation deep in Washington’s defensive zone. After Rob Scuderi launched a shot towards the net, Crosby happened to be in the right place at the right time as he snuck up by the crease and tapped the puck into the goal. For the third time in this series the game would head into overtime.
"That's been really the way the series has worked out," said Crosby. "It's been tight hockey. Both teams realize the importance of staying within striking distance. Teams that are up realize the importance of getting that two-goal lead. Everyone is desperate, everyone realizes the weight of the situation.”
At 66:26 David Steckel won a crucial face-off and in the process broke Penguins center Maxime Talbot’s stick. Steckel then took off towards the goal where he was in position to deflect Brooks Laich’s slap shot past a stunned Marc Andre Fleury. "I told myself if I had a chance again, I wouldn't miss," Steckel said. "I was in the right place at the right time. I personally didn't know where it went or anything. ... It was the biggest goal of my career so I didn't know what to do. I just jumped around." The last time a Capital player scored an overtime goal in Pittsburgh was in 2002 when Jeff Halpern did it.
Alexander Ovechkin, always casting an imposing shadow on the ice, did not score a goal but he did manage to have three assists. "It's always fun when Ovie scores, but it's hard because the other team pays a lot of attention and is very close to Ovie, so it's a good thing other people give us goals," Viktor Kozlov said. Kozlov had a stellar night himself, scoring two goals and being named the game’s first star. Washington’s rookie goaltender, Simeon Varlamov, made 38 saves, 17 of them in first period.
These two teams will meet one more time at the Verizon Center on Wednesday night as this clash of the NHL titans goes the distance.
Information from the AP, Washington Post and Pittsburgh Gazette was used in this story.
Hard Hits…A pivotal moment in this game came in the first period when the Capitals killed a 5 on 3 Penguins power play. Washington was so sluggish in that period that they only managed five shots on goal. On the other hand, Pittsburgh controlled the puck most of the period and blasted Simeon Varlamov with 18 shots. It’s amazing that they could not score another goal with the way they were playing. A goal there and maybe we would be seeing handshakes at the end of this game instead of dejected Penguin fans leaving the Mellon Arena…So far in this series, the television ratings have been up. FSN Pittsburgh earned a massive 21.38 rating for Saturday's Game 5, the highest-rated NHL game on any FSN regional sports network. Versus recorded a 1.2 rating during its national telecast of Game 2, making that the highest-rated and most-watched second-round game on cable since 2002. While I’m happy to hear this, I’m surprised that more people aren’t into hockey. I know people who love playoff hockey and there is nothing else like it in any other sport (maybe the World Cup comes close, but that’s every four years), but regular season hockey is just as exciting. I hope more people start catching on to it. I think Versus has done a tremendous job of covering the game but its just unfortunate that a good chunk of our country does not get that channel. If the NHL wants to increase it’s TV ratings, it needs a broadcast partner that can commit to hockey coverage as well as one that most of the country can get. It baffles my mind how only one of these games between Washington and Pittsburgh was shown on national television…Tonight marked the first time that Marc Andre Fleury has lost an overtime playoff game. His record fell to 5-1…This is the third consecutive post-season series that Washington has faced elimination before going on to force a Game 7. All Game 7’s will have taken place in Washington. The Capitals are 2-5 lifetime in Game 7’s. The last time they played in two Game 7’s was in the 1987-88 season when they beat the Flyers in round 1 before losing to the Devils in round 2.
Title Fight: Crosby vs. Ovechkin
Round 6
Crosby- 1 Goal, 1 Assist, +1, 6 Shots on Goal, 1 Hit, 23:07 Time on Ice
Ovechkin- 0 Goals, 3 Assists, +3, 5 Shots on Goal, 2 Hits, 25:52 Time on Ice
Result: Although both players weren’t their usually imposing selves on the ice tonight, they both managed to find the score sheet more than once and they were both named as the other two stars of the game. Crosby and Ovechkin did what they needed to do to keep their teams in the game. I have to rule this round a draw, but Ovie still leads in the cards 48-47. The final round is Wednesday night.
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