NHL washington Capitals

It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We continue our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Southeast Division.

The Southeast is probably going to be the most boring division in hockey this offseason. Three of the teams don't have the financial capability to make the sort of splash they need, and the other two were good enough to mostly maintain the status quo.

Still, we've got two top-5 draft picks to look forward to, as well as the ongoing sagas surrounding the stars for both Florida franchises.

Wednesday afternoon, the NHL and the Washington Capitals issued statements in response to allegations made Tuesday night by a man arrested for possession of steroids that he had sold performance-enhancing drugs to members of the Capitals and Washington Nationals.

Late on Tuesday night in Florida, law enforcement authorities announced the arrest of a suburban Tampa couple on multiple counts of possession with intent to distribute illegal steroids. But the news that's going to reverberate around the country, and especially in the nation's capital, is that one of the suspects in the bust is crowing that he's supplied steroids to athletes across a number of professional sports, including to members of the NHL's Washington Capitals and MLB's Washington Nationals.

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Overnight, we got the news that Washington Capitals center Sergei Fedorov had been offered a contract with Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL, and now RDS.ca and Octagon Sports agent Allan Walsh (through his Twitter feed) are reporting that Fedorov's teammate, forward Viktor Kozlov, also an impending free agent, will soon sign a contract with Salavat Ufa of the KHL. Details were not disclosed.

This is not the first report that tagged Kozlov as heading back to Russia. A little less than two weeks ago, Russian-language outlet Sports Daily (translated by Japers' Rink), reported that both Salavat and SKA St. Petersburg were interested in bringing Kozlov back to his homeland.

Kozlov, a veteran of 14 NHL seasons who joined the Capitals as a free agent before the 2007-08 campaign, has spent a good part of his stint in Washington working as a right wing on the team's top line with Alex Ovechkin. In two seasons, he had 29 goals and 66 assists and was +19.

As was relayed late last night by Sean Leahy at Puck Daddy, Russia's Sport Express is reporting that Washington Capitals free agent center Sergei Fedorov won't re-sign with the club, and will instead opt for a two-year deal with the KHL's Metallurg Magnitogorsk for $3.8 million per season.

The report, if accurate -- and that's always a question in situations like these -- would come as something of a disappointment to Washington's fan base, as Fedorov became a local favorite after being imported from Columbus at the trade deadline in 2008.

More or less rescued from obscurity with the Blue Jackets by the deal, Fedorov quickly developed solid relationships in the locker room, especially with his younger Russian teammates, wingers Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin. That was in obvious evidence at the 2008 IIHF World Championship when the three played together on a line that dominated the tournament offensively, while leading Russia to a gold medal.

Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury didn't have the best playoff series of his career against the Washington Capitals, but he managed to save his best moment for the biggest stage, robbing Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin in the opening minutes of Pittsburgh's commanding 6-2 on Wednesday night.

Ovechkin worked his way behind the Pittsburgh defense and stormed in by himself, like he's done so many times in his career, and had an opportunity to blow the roof off the building with the all-important first goal.

Video after the jump.

WASHINGTON -- After watching the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Washington Capitals play six of the most tightly-contested playoff games in recent memory, just about every last one of the 18,277 fans who showed up at Verizon Center on Wednesday night were probably expecting yet another nail-biter between two teams that couldn't be more evenly matched.

What they got instead was a 6-2 blowout win by Pittsburgh.

How did it happen? Simply put, the Penguins put their foot on the gas early and didn't let up.

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WASHINGTON -- Here in Washington what was a hotly anticipated Game 7 has turned into a rout, as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Washington Capitals 6-2. Pittsburgh jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Sidney Crosby (on the power play) and Craig Adams only 18 seconds apart during a period where they outshot Washington 18-5.

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Though we won't know for sure until the puck actually drops, KDKA, via its Pittsburgh Sports Insider blog, is reporting that Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar will play in game 7. It's not known how much he will actually play, but it's likely he will see extensive time on the power play. His mere presence on the bench should be an emotional boost to the Penguins. Gonchar was injured in Pittsburgh's 5-3 win in game 4 when he was hit by Alex Ovechkin. [Pittsburgh Sports Insider]

For hockey fans, there is nothing more exciting than a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Unless, of course, you happen to have a rooting interest in one of the teams taking part, in which case, it goes from being exciting to being the most aggravating, nerve-wracking, hand-eating two-and-a-half hours in sports ... and that's if it ends in regulation. Let's not even think about the insanity that is sudden death overtime.

On Wednesday, the Penguins and Capitals will be taking part in what will surely be one of the most anticipated Game 7s in recent history, as they close out what has been a series for the ages. Somebody is moving on, and somebody is going home.

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