Gästebuch » Alex Ovechkin and the Washington

TAMPA Adidas Riley Nash Jersey , Fla. (AP) Capitals overcame a major hurdle by reaching the Eastern Conference final.Just like that, they’re in a full-on sprint toward the finish.The Capitals scored in the opening minute of the game and twice in the last 1:02 of the second period Sunday night to pull away to a 6-2 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning and a 2-0 lead in the East final.”It’s huge but it’s not over yet,” Ovechkin said. ”We played hard and played smart. You can see all four lines doing their job.”Evgeny Kuznetsov and Lars Eller each had a goal and two assists. Ovechkin and Tom Wilson had a goal and an assist apiece for the Caps, who took the first two games of the best-of-seven matchup on the road. Since 1974-75, teams that take a 2-0 lead in the conference final or semifinal have a series record of 39-2 (95.1 percent).”We didn’t panic. Just stayed to the system and played the right way,” Ovechkin said. ”We stayed calm and waited for our opportunities.”Devante Smith-Pelly and Brett Connolly also scored, helping Washington improve to 7-1 on the road this postseason. It’s their first visit to the conference final during Ovechkin’s 13-season career.”You’re on the road and it’s us against them, and this group has really bonded,” coach Barry Trotz said. ”They’ve got a lot of resiliency, and they’re having fun.”Game 3 is Tuesday night in Washington.The Lightning had the best record in the Eastern Conference this season and breezed through the first rounds of the playoffs against New Jersey and Boston.Little has gone right against the Capitals.”For a team that’s been used to being able to make some plays, we sure haven’t made them in these two games. It’s very uncharacteristic of us. That’s the difference. They’ve made plays, we haven’t. And it’s cost us,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said.”We’ve just played tentative and a little bit slow. We didn’t get 113 points by playing that way. We didn’t win the first two rounds by playing that way,” Cooper added. ”For some reason for two games, that’s the way we’ve played.”Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos had early power-play goals for Tampa Bay, which rebounded after falling behind on Wilson’s goal 28 seconds into the game.Smith-Pelly’s one-timer finished an odd-man rush and made it 2-2 at 2:30 of the second period. The Caps took control when Eller scored with 1:02 remaining and Kuznetsov – with assists from Ovechkin and Eller – delivered on a power play less than a minute later.Tampa Bay goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy was called for tripping Andre Burakovsky with 10 seconds left in the period. Kuznetsov scored seven seconds later to make it 4-2, the second time in the series the Caps stunned the Lightning with a power-play goal in the closing seconds of a period.Ovechkin and Connolly finished the rout with third-period goals. Braden Holtby stopped 33 of 35 shots to improve to 10-3 this postseason.”We’ve defended this entire playoffs up until these last couple of games, and that’s why we’ve had success,” Stamkos said. ”We haven’t defended with the same urgency. We’re leaving our goalie out to dry.”Ovechkin also had a goal and an assist in Washington’s 4-2 victory in Game 1.Vasilevskiy was pulled from the opener after facing 25 shots in two periods, but the Lightning didn’t pin the loss on him. Instead, they vowed to play harder in front of the young goaltender, who finished with 31 saves in Game 2.Tampa Bay benefited early from a couple of questionable penalties – Wilson for goaltender interference and T.J. Oshie for high-sticking Victor Hedman Adidas Anthony Duclair Jersey , when the Tampa Bay defenseman actually was struck by the puck – to score twice in just over three minutes on the power play for a 2-1 lead.Stamkos and Hedman assisted on Point’s goal at 7:08 of the first. Stamkos’ fourth goal in five games gave Tampa Bay its first lead of the series.The Lightning will have to turn the series around on the road to return to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2015.”We’ll prepare for the toughest game that we’ve played all season,” Stamkos said. ”It’s gut-check time. Let’s see who we really are.”NOTES: Washington’s John Carlson had two assists, giving him 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) this postseason. That’s a club record by a defenseman in one playoff year. He had been tied for the most with Kevin Hatcher (5-7-12, 1988), Scott Stevens (1-11-12, 1988) and himself (5-7-12, 2016). … Before Sunday night, the Lightning had won Game 2 of a series five consecutive times after losing Game 1. They’re 4-2 in six previous series in which they lost Game 1, with those series losses coming in the first round in 2014 against Montreal and the 2015 Stanley Cup Final against Chicago. … Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom, who took a shot from Justin Schultz off his right hand in Game 5 of Washington’s second-round series against the Penguins, missed his third straight game. He took part in the morning skate on a limited basis and remains day-to-day. … Hedman has a franchise-record, seven-game point streak (eight assists). Martin St. Louis had a six-game streak in 2004.— CHICAGO (AP) — As a junior hockey phenom, Alex DeBrincat grabbed the attention of scouts as a natural goal scorer who could get open and finish.Now the 20-year-old Blackhawks forward is doing just that in the NHL.DeBrincat scored his second goal of the game and sixth this season with nine seconds left in overtime to lift Chicago to a 4-3 victory over the St. Louis Blues on Saturday night.Set up by Erik Gustafsson’s pass across the crease, DeBrincat tapped the game-winner past Jake Allen from the right edge of the net after Patrick Kane, and then Artem Ansimov, controlled the puck deep in the St. Louis zone.“Everyone’s making great plays, even on that last one,” DeBrincat said. “(Gustafsson) made a great pass backdoor to me.”DeBrincat, Chicago’s emerging second-year star, also connected with 6:54 left in regulation to tie the game at 3. Open in the slot, he converted a centering pass from linemate Jonathan Toews after the Blues scored three straight goals to take the lead.“I’m getting pretty lucky right now Adidas Martin Hanzal Jersey ,” DeBrincat said. “Playing with Toews and (Dominik) Kahun, they’re making great plays and getting me the puck.”Coach Joel Quenneville says more than luck is involved for DeBrincat.“He can do a lot of amazing things,” Quenneville said “He’s got a great stick as well defensively, tremendous hands, great release — whether it’s the reception of the shot how he releases or where he releases it from.”Anisimov scored his first goal and Kane added his fifth in the first period for the Blackhawks (3-0-2), who have skated into overtime in each of their first five games this season.Brayden Schenn notched his first two goals this season as the Blues (1-1-2) rallied from an early two-goal deficit. David Perron also connected for St. Louis.Chicago’s Cam Ward made 35 saves in his fifth straight start as the Blackhawks await the return of Corey Crawford, out since last December with a concussion.Allen, who blocked 46 shots, was one the few players Blues coach Mike Yeo would praise.“He was the reason we battled back in the game and it’s disappointing not to get that second point for him,” Yeo said.Yeo said his players weren’t bearing down to limit Chicago’s scoring chances.“That’s a rough way to play the game because it’s just back-and-forth hockey,” he said.Chicago’s two big-name defensemen, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, reached milestones.Keith played his 1,000th game, all with Chicago, and was recognized by the team in a pregame ceremony. Joined by his family, the four-time All-Star received a silver stick and painting.The 35-year-old Keith, who joined Chicago in 2005, has two Norris Trophies as the NHL’s best defenseman and led the Blackhawks in minutes played when they won Stanley Cups in 2010, 2013 and 2015.“I still have fun and enjoy it and I feel like I still have lots to do,” Keith said.Seabrook, Keith’s frequent blue line partner Adidas Blake Comeau Jersey , skated in his 1,008th game with Chicago to set a franchise record for most games by a defenseman. He passed Bob Murray, now the Anaheim Ducks general manager.Aided by three power plays, the Blackhawks dominated the first period. Chicago outshot the Blues 23-11 and led 2-0 after 20 minutes.Anisimov opened the scoring 11:51 in, converting a rebound of Brandon Saad’s shot as an interference penalty to Jay Bouwmeester expired. Kane’s power-play goal with 3:59 left in the first made it 2-0.After Allen denied Toews on a stuff-in, Kane picked up the rebound and drifted across the slot. With Allen down — and defenseman Colton Parayko and forward Ivan Barbashev also in the crease — Kane fired the puck in.Four straight manpower advantages in the second and third helped the Blues bounce back.Schenn, who led the Blues with 70 points last season, scored on screened shot at 12:35 of the second with during a delayed penalty call to cut it to 2-1.The Blues took a 3-2 lead with power-play goals 3:03 apart on consecutive shots early in the third.Perron tied it at 2 at 1:44 of the period, capitalizing on Ward’s botched handling of a dump-in.Schenn gave the Blues their first lead at 3-2 at 4:47 when he beat Ward between the pads from the right circle.After DeBrincat score to force overtime, Ward made a stick save to stop Schenn on a breakaway 1:10 into the extra period.NOTES: Keith and Seabrook are the only active teammates to have played in 1,000 NHL games. They both made their NHL debuts on Oct. 5, 2005, against Anaheim. … Keith, almost certainly a future Hockey Hall of Famer, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2015 after he scored the game-winning goal in a deciding Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against Tampa Bay. … Two brothers, 22-year-old Blackhawks C Nick Schmaltz and 25-year-old Blues D Jordan Schmaltz, met for the first time in the NHL. … St. Louis C Jaden Schwartz sat out with an injured right leg, suffered Thursday against Calgary. . Chicago’s LW Andreas Martensen (back) missed his third game.UP NEXT:Blues: Play Anaheim on Sunday in St. LouisBlackhawks: Host Arizona on Thursday.