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The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals 2-0 in Game 7 of their second-round series Wednesday night. The defending champs are moving on, while another Presidents' Trophy-winning season for the Capitals is over at the hands of the Pens. Even worse: It's the third time in the Alex Ovechkin era that Washington's been eliminated by Pittsburgh.
Ovechkin, somehow, remains without a postseason game played in the third round or later on his remarkable resume.
This series loss is especially crippling for Washington because the team was so very much all-in this season, with T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams, Karl Alzner, and rental Kevin Shattenkirk all slated for unrestricted free agency on July 1. Add in the fact that Washington tied up the series after falling behind 3-1 and, well, this one's going to hurt for a long, long time in the District.
Marc-Andre Fleury was stellar for the Penguins, stopping all 29 shots he faced. Thrown into the crease before Game 1 of the first round, Fleury's made the most of his opportunity, and after backing up Matt Murray all season, he's now led the Pens into the Eastern Conference Final against the Ottawa Senators.
Bryan Rust and Patric Hornqvist scored for Pittsburgh. It was Rust's eighth goal in elimination/close-out games.
Braden Holtby did what he could for the Capitals, making a number of stellar stops in the third period to keep Washington within striking distance.
Pittsburgh, however, was especially dominant in the third period, keeping on the attack and giving the Capitals no room and no chance to mount a comeback. The shots in the final 20 minutes were 11-6 in favor of Pittsburgh.
The Penguins are now an insane 6-0 all time in Game 7s on the road. The Capitals never had a chance.
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