Malkin Overtime Winner Gives Pittsburgh 3-2 Series Lead

Just a few minutes ago as he sat at a podium following his team's 4-3 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, it was obvious that Washington Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau was more angry than heartbroken.

Who could blame him? Washington, a team that got two goals from the best player in the world, Alex Ovechkin, had played its most complete game of the series, yet still couldn't find a way to win.

In the end, this game turned on two sequences on either end of the ice in the overtime period. The first came early in the period when Washington center Dave Steckel, one of his team's more consistent performers, couldn't put the puck into an open net early. The second came just a few minutes later, as an Evgeni Malkin pass intended for Sidney Crosby deflected off the stick of sprawling Capitals defenseman Tom Poti and through the legs of a stunned Simeon Varlamov.

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Malkin's overtime goal put an end to yet another intense evening between these two teams, as things seemed ready to boil over in the wake of the brutal knee-on-knee hit Ovechkin delivered to Pittsburgh defenseman Sergei Gonchar in Game 4 just one night ago in Pittsburgh. And indeed, things boiled over into open warfare at the end of the first period, when a scrum along the far boards saw Malkin, Brooks Orpik, Ovechkin and Alexander Semin all sent to the box for roughing to start the second period.

That scrum came at the end of a period where the teams traded scoring chances evenly, and the Capitals showed, at least initially, far more energy than they did in Friday's night's 5-3 loss on enemy ice. In fact, Washington got off the first eight shots of the period, yet Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was able to keep Washington off the board. In the end, it was the first scoreless period of the series.

Jordan Staal finally broke the deadlock at 5:17 of the second period with a wrist shot from the right wing faceoff circle that eluded Washington goalie Simeon Varlamov to his stick side. But the lead didn't last long, as Ovechkin seemed to take the tally as a personal affront to his dignity. Taking a pass from Poti, Ovechkin skated up ice, and taking advantage of all the space Pittsburgh was giving him, fired a wrist shot past Fleury to tie the game 1-1.

Before the end of the period, Nicklas Backstrom gave Washington a 2-1 lead on a pretty give-and-go courtesy of Ovechkin and Sergei Fedorov. Carrying the puck in the right wing circle, Backstrom found Ovechkin below the goal line with a pass and then cut on an angle to the net, where he collected a quick pass back from Ovechkin and tapped it past Fleury.

During the regular season, the Capitals were 33-3-2 when holding a lead going into the third period. But as Boudreau himself pointed out in the postgame, Pittsburgh had more come from behind victories than any other club in the NHL this season. The Washington lead was erased only :51 seconds into the third period when Ruslan Fedotenko -- a playoff hero for Tampa Bay during their 2004 title run -- scored for Pittsburgh. But while he might get credit for the goal in the scoresheet, he got a big hand from Evgeni Malkin, who had gained the Washington zone before leaving Fedotenko a perfect drop pass that he rifled past Simeon Varlamov high on the glove side.

At 6:27 Pittsburgh took the lead on the sort of goal teams that win in the playoffs seem to know how to score. Taking advantage of a scramble in front of the Washington net, former Capital Matt Cooke streaked across the goal mouth and swiped the loose puck into the net. It was the second goal scored by Pittsburgh's third line of Staal, Cooke and Tyler Kennedy, a line whose play in the first round against Philadelphia was so critical.

"Very seldom have we had the chance to carry the momentum," said Cooke. "Staalsie chipped in and got a big aol for us. He's supporting me tonight and that's how I was able to get the puck and make a play over the blue line."

"It's always great for the third and fourth line to chip in with a couple of goals. It's no better timing than now," said Staal. "We're happy for it ... You've just got to keep pushing forward on every shift."

At that point you wouldn't have been blamed for leaving Washington for dead. Fortunately for the Caps, they still have the best hockey player in the world on their roster, and he still had plenty to say about the ultimate outcome of this game.

Working with defenseman Mike Green and Backstrom, Ovechkin suddenly found himself open on the right wing on the opposite wing of where he usually works. But while the spot on the ice might have been unfamiliar, the outcome was just the same, as Ovechkin took a pass from Backstrom on his forehand and rifled a wrist shot past Fleury to tie the game 3-3 with less than five minutes to go.

While that would be the last goal in regulation, there was still one more play that would have a bearing on the outcome in overtime. Late in the game, Sidney Crosby, who had hit the post more than a few times in regulation, found himself streaking in on the right wing with only Washington defenseman John Erskine to beat. After Crosby turned the corner on Erskine, the Washington defenseman dove in desperation to poke the puck away from the Pittsburgh center, but instead sent himself spinning into the boards, which he hit head first.

With Erskine out of the lineup, Boudreau had to ask Fedorov, who has taken more than a few shifts on defense in his career, to step back to the blue line one more time. After the game, Boudreau said he made that choice because of Fedorov's ability to make the first pass out of the zone, but in the end, it was a matchup that Malkin was able to take advantage of in the overtime.

Finding himself one-on-one with the 39-year old veteran, Malkin was able to turn the corner on Fedorov with the puck on his backhand. It was then that Malkin threw a pass at Crosby, who was streaking toward the net through the slot. Desperate to stop the pass, Poti dove with his stick extended. He caught a piece of the puck, but luck wasn't on his side as he got a front row seat to see it deflect between Varlamov's legs for the game-winner.


After the game, Ovechkin continued to put on a brave face. "It's a hard situation for us. But before when we lost the first two to New York we were in the same situation. Our next game is going to be our biggest .. We want to come back here and play."

For that to happen, Washington will have to figure out a way to match the Penguins, and steal a game on enemy ice in Pittsburgh on Monday just like the Penguins did tonight. It's a tall order, but one Ovechkin seems primed to take on.