Sidney Crosby scored twice to take his NHL-leading playoff goal total to 12 and Pittsburgh shut down Alex Ovechkin most of the night as the Penguins downed the Washington Capitals 6-2 in Game 7 to win their NHL second-round series 4-3 on Wednesday.
Pittsburgh’s series victory, after trailing 2-0, moves them closer to a second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup finals, something the team last did in 1991 and 1992.
Everyone chipped in for the Penguins, from regular-season leading scorer Evgeni Malkin’s two assists, to fourth-line forward Craig Adam’s first goal in 42 career post-season games. Second-year defenseman Kris Letang, 38-year-old Bill Guerin and Jordan Staal also scored. Marc-Andre Fleury made 19 saves and didn’t allow a goal until his team led 5-0.
PHOTO: AFP
The Penguins will face the Boston Bruins or Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference finals.
The NHL boasted that it’s the first time since 2001 that three conference semi-finals went the distance and the league, its TV partners and fans had to be excited about the potential drama on tap on Wednesday. In addition to all of the big names on the ice, five of the series’ first six games were decided by one goal — and three went to overtime.
Nothing of the sort this time, in part because Pittsburgh scored goals 8 seconds apart in the first period. And just kept on scoring.
Participating in his first Game 7 at any level, Crosby put the visitors ahead 1-0 with a power-play goal from his favorite spot on the ice — the net’s doorstep. He added something of a finishing touch with another power-play goal in the third period, stealing the puck from his rival Ovechkin, before beating Simeon Varlamov’s replacement, Jose Theodore.
Pittsburgh were on the man-advantage when Brooks Laich was called for a four-minute high-sticking penalty after sending Crosby crumbling to the ice. Clearly, though, Crosby was well enough to make it 6-1.
Much earlier in the evening, back when the game was scoreless, a pass came his way from Sergei Gonchar. Crosby kicked the puck to himself with his right skate and then flipped it home with his stick. Gonchar was back in his usual role of running the point for Pittsburgh after missing most of Game 4 and all of Game 5 and Game 6 with a knee injury after a hit by Ovechkin.
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