NHL roundup: Penguins, Ducks win Game 7s

[May 11, 2017]  The Sports Xchange

WASHINGTON -- Bryan Rust and Patric Hornqvist scored goals, Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves, and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Washington Capitals 2-0 on Wednesday in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Pittsburgh, which continued its postseason mastery of Washington, will face the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference finals. Rust made it 1-0 midway through the second period, and Hornqvist doubled the lead early in the third.

The Penguins eliminated the Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals in the conference semifinals for the second season in a row, and Pittsburgh has won nine of 10 postseason series between the teams. During that time, the Penguins are 4-0 in Game 7s.

Pittsburgh is 3-0 versus the Capitals in series played during the Sidney Crosby-Alex Ovechkin era. The previous two times the Penguins eliminated Washington, they went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Ducks 2, Oilers 1

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Nick Ritchie scored the decisive third-period goal, and John Gibson made 23 saves as Anaheim defeated Edmonton in Game 7 of their Western Conference semifinal series.

The Ducks advance to the Western Conference finals to meet the Nashville Predators. The series is scheduled to start Friday in Anaheim. The Ducks won a Game 7 for the first time in five playoff seasons. They had been eliminated from the postseason at home each of the previous four campaigns.

Drake Caggiula scored the Edmonton goal in the first period, and Andrew Cogliano responded for the Ducks in the second period. Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot made 28 saves.

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