PITTSBURGH -- A cathartic celebration 20 years in the making began with a poke of Evgeny Kuznetsov's stick. It built as the puck that Kuznetsov tapped away from Sidney Crosby made its way to Washington Capitals teammate Alexander Ovechkin.
It neared its crescendo as Ovechkin flipped it back to Kuznetsov, who at this point had split two Penguins and was streaking toward the Pittsburgh net. And it culminated jubilantly in the corner moments later, with the puck in the net and Kuznetsov's teammates mobbing him after he ended two decades of frustration with a flick of the wrist.
The ghosts of past playoff failures, many of them at the hands of the Penguins, were gone. They were dispatched over the course of six games, the last a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 6 on Monday night that gave Washington a 4-2 series victory and a spot in the Eastern Conference finals against Tampa Bay.
"It's pretty emotional," Kuznetsov said after his seventh goal of the playoffs 5:27 into overtime pushed the Capitals into the NHL's final four for just the third time in franchise history. "I don't really have a word for it."
Maybe because there aren't many that can describe the anguish Washington has felt during much of the Ovechkin era, one filled with postseason failure after postseason failure, many of them coming with the team on the precipice of a breakthrough.
Only this time they didn't crumble. Even with Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson and Andre Burakovsky out. Even with a handful of rookies thrust into the lineup. Even on the road against a two-time defending champion with a special knack for torment.
"Again, it doesn't matter what happened [before]," Ovechkin said. "We have to stick together. We knew it was there, we just had to battle and we just had to fight through it."
Alex Chiasson scored Washington's only goal of regulation, a shot from the right circle that gave the Capitals the lead in the second period. Braden Holtby, benched at the start of the playoffs, stopped 21 of the 22 shots he faced and received a dash of luck when Pittsburgh's Tom Kuhnhackl hit the far post early in the extra period.
The puck flitted away harmlessly. Play continued. And a few minutes later Kuznetsov's goal joined Dale Hunter's overtime Game 7 winner vs. Philadelphia in the first round in 1988 and Joe Juneau's poke by Dominik Hasek vs. Buffalo in the Eastern Conference finals in 1998 in franchise lore.
Pittsburgh won nine of its 10 previous playoff meetings with Washington, including taut second-round triumphs in 2016 and 2017 on their way to becoming the first team in nearly 20 years to win consecutive Stanley Cups.
A bid for a three-peat came to an end after another sluggish start. Kris Letang scored for the Penguins and Murray finished with 28 saves but couldn't close his legs fast enough to stop Kuznetsov's flick.
"You look at the last couple of games, it's a one-shot difference," Crosby said. "You need to get those big plays. Unfortunately couldn't do it."
PREDATORS 4, JETS 0
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Filip Forsberg had two goals and an assist, Pekka Rinne stopped 34 shots for his second shutout of the playoffs, and the Nashville Predators beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-0 on Monday to force a decisive Game 7 in their Western Conference semifinal series.
Viktor Arvidsson also scored twice, including a late empty-netter, and added an assist for the Predators. Roman Josi and Ryan Johansen each had two assists.
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 25 shots for the Jets.
Game 7 is Thursday at Nashville, Tenn., with the winner advancing to face the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference final.
This back-and-forth series has yet to see a team win consecutive games.
Sports on 05/08/2018