|
 Held without a goal for four straight games, Ovechkin scored twice in the third period to lift the Capitals to a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night and send the series back to Washington for a decisive Game 7.
The Capitals have rallied back from a 3-1 hole and have a chance to win only the second Game 7 in franchise history Tuesday night. The other one should be painfully familiar to the Flyers faithful: Dale Hunter scored an overtime goal that led Washington past Philadelphia 20 years ago this month.
The Caps have a shot to advance on home ice thanks to Ovechkin's timely goals. They are trying to become the 21st team in league history to come back from a 3-1 deficit and win a best-of-seven series.
Ovechkin never seemed overly concerned that he hadn't scored a goal since the Game 1 winner. The Flyers had stymied and frustrated the NHL's leading scorer so much that he wasn't much of a factor the last four games.
After the Caps erased a 2-0 deficit late in the second period, Ovechkin made the Flyers pay early in the third.
Viktor Kozlov picked off a pass deep in the Washington zone and fed Ovechkin at center ice. He took the pass and skated untouched before he beat Martin Biron for the breakaway goal and a 3-2 lead 2:46 into the third period.
Ovechkin was just heating up. He ripped a one-timer on a cross-ice pass from Brooks Laich eight minutes later to give Washington a two-goal lead.
All those Flyers fans who had taunted Ovechkin for three games suddenly fell silent. The only noise heard at the end were the Capitals banging their sticks on the boards in celebration.
The Caps will play Pittsburgh with a series win. The Flyers would get Montreal.
The sold-out crowd was dressed in their matching orange T-shirts and they only grew louder as goals from Danny Briere and Mike Richards put the Flyers up 2-0 in the second.
[to top of second column] |
The Capitals, who rallied from a two-goal hole in Game 1 to win on Ovechkin's game winner, pulled through again.
Nicklas Backstrom pulled the Caps within one with this third goal of the series midway through the second.
Alexander Semin's third goal of the series with 1:57 left tied the score at 2. Biron was sprawled in the crease after he made a sensational save to stop John Erskine's shot, leaving Semin with a clear look for the easy goal.
Cristobal Huet made 33 saves for Washington, settling in to have a good night after a tough start.
The Flyers were cruising when Briere scored his NHL-best sixth playoff goal for a 2-0 lead only 1:18 into the second. The goal made the Flyers 2-for-2 on the power play
-- Richards scored one 3:49 into the game -- after they entered 6-for-26.
Richards' goal was a positive sign that it could be the Flyers night: The team that scored first was 5-0 in the series.
Now make it 5-1.
Notes: Flyers D Jaroslav Modry was scratched. ... Richards has a point his last four games. ... Semin has a four-game scoring streak.
[Associated Press; By DAN GELSTON]
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
|
