Two goals from Russian sniper Alex Ovechkin helped the Washington Capitals to a 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday and a four-game season sweep of last season’s Stanley Cup champions.
Ovechkin’s goals, his 47th and 48th of the season, moved him into a tie for the NHL lead with Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, who scored in the second period on Tuesday.
Alexander Semin, Mike Knuble, Tomas Fleischmann and Matt Bradley also scored for the Capitals (53-15-12), who have already clinched the Presidents’ Cup for most points in the league.
“I think the playoffs is a whole new ballgame,” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said.
The Caps lost to Pittsburgh in last season’s conference semi-finals.
“I don’t know if it is going to affect them. They are Stanley Cup champions,” he said.
Jordan Leopold’s goal 49 seconds into the third period, his second of the night, reduced the Capitals’ advantage to 4-3 before Ovechkin made the game safe with a power-play goal and an empty-netter a second before the final buzzer.
Crosby added two assists for Pittsburgh but he was once again upstaged by Ovechkin, who had gone four games without a goal.
“I think Crosby played unbelievable tonight. He just showed how good he is,” Ovechkin said. “I didn’t score for like four games. Finally, one goes in and I felt pretty good.”
Pittsburgh played without Evgeni Malkin, who had returned from a foot injury on Saturday, but was scratched against Washington for undisclosed reasons.
The Capitals won their fourth in a row and extended their wins record to 53. The Capitals’ previous single-season mark was 50 wins.
Caps goaltender Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves, upping the stakes in his battle with Jose Theodore for starting duties in the playoffs.
The Penguins (45-27-7) fell to fourth in the Eastern Conference after both New Jersey and Buffalo won to move ahead of them.
SHARKS 2, FLAMES 1
In Calgary, Alberta, San Jose clinched their third straight Pacific Division title by edging Calgary.
Evgeni Nabokov made 38 saves for the Sharks, who stayed two points ahead of Chicago for best record in the Western Conference.
The Flames, on the other hand, missed the playoffs for the first time since 2003, after Colorado beat Vancouver later Tuesday.
Rob Blake and Jamie McGinn scored for San Jose. Rene Bourque netted for Calgary.
AVALANCHE 4, CANUCKS 3, SO
In Vancouver, Colorado beat Vancouver in a shootout to clinch a playoff berth.
Matt Duchene used a strong deke to the forehand to score the only goal of the shootout.
Craig Anderson stopped 28 shots through overtime and all three in the shootout.
Darcy Tucker, T.J. Galiardi and Paul Stastny scored for Colorado, which had lost a season high four straight.
BLACKHAWKS 5, STARS 2
In Dallas, Chicago extended its run of wins to four by overcoming Dallas.
Marian Hossa scored after 36 seconds and Colin Fraser had the first of his two goals in the final minute of the first period.
Patrick Kane also scored for Chicago and Jonathan Toews added a short-hander.
Dallas’ Steve Ott connected on the power play to reach the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career, and James Neal added his 27th of the season.
KINGS 5, DUCKS 4, SO
In Anaheim, California, Los Angeles came from three goals down to to force overtime and then beat Anaheim in a shootout.
Justin Williams had a goal and an assist in the third period for the playoff-bound Kings, who trailed 4-1 late in the second period.
Michael Handzus scored the equalizing goal with just over a minute to go in regulation, then Anze Kopitar netted the decisive goal in the shootout.
Teemu Selanne scored two goals for the Ducks, who were eliminated from the playoff race.
DEVILS 3, THRASHERS 0
In Atlanta, New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur got his 600th career win with his second straight shutout.
The Thrashers were eliminated from playoff contention for the ninth time in their 10-year history.
Dean McAmmond, Zach Parise and Travis Zajac scored for the Devils. Brodeur stopped 19 shots in his league-leading ninth shutout of the season and the 110th of his career.
SABRES 5, RANGERS 2
In Buffalo, New York, Buffalo clinched the Northeast Division title by beating New York.
Sabres goalie Ryan Miller made 30 saves, including a brilliant stop on Marian Gaborik.
Rookie Tyler Ennis had a goal and two assists while Drew Stafford had a goal and an assist for Buffalo, which won its first divisional title for three years.
Jochen Hecht, with the go-ahead goal, Derek Roy and Toni Lydman also scored for the Sabres, who delivered a blow to the Rangers playoff hopes in the final week of the season.
Also on Tuesday, it was:
• Senators 5, Panthers 2
• Islanders 4, Canadiens 3, SO
• Flyers 2, Maple Leafs 0
• Hurricanes 8, Lightning 5
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