WASHINGTON - Michal Neuvirth made a playoff career-high 44 saves and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Washington Capitals 2-0 in Game 5 on Friday night to stay alive in their first-round series.

Neuvirth was dominant, carrying the team on his shoulders and blunting Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals' every charge to cut the series deficit to 3-2 and send it back to Philadelphia for Game 6 on Sunday.

Ryan White scored the lone goal for the Flyers against Braden Holtby, with the puck deflecting in off Washington defenseman Taylor Chorney and past the goalie.

Chris VandeVelde added an empty-netter late.

Holtby was barely tested in making 10 saves.

The pressure is now on the Presidents' Trophy-winning Capitals, who led the series 3-0 before Neuvirth replaced Steve Mason in goal for Philadelphia. Washington lost back-to-back games in regulation for the first time all season.

Sidelined by a lower-body injury for three weeks, Neuvirth only played two games since March 4 before making his Flyers playoff debut in Game 4 on Wednesday, stopping 31 of 32 shots against the team that drafted and developed him.

Neuvirth faced the Capitals in relief while with the New York Islanders in the 2015 playoffs, but this was his big opportunity. Some of his former teammates made sure it was a busy one.

The Capitals put on a shooting gallery against Neuvirth almost all game, hemming the Flyers in their zone and forcing him to be sharp. The 28-year-old Czech made a big glove save on Daniel Winnik short-handed attempt early in the second period to keep the Capitals off the board, and then Philadelphia finally gave him some support.

Three seconds after another unsuccessful power play, White was credited with the goal when it banked off Chorney's skate and in. The Flyers fell to 1 for 21 on the power play in the series but remained alive.

Neuvirth was singlehandedly the reason for that as he sprawled to stop Karl Alzner, denied Ovechkin and robbed Marcus Johansson in the second period. In the third he denied Dmitry Orlov on a rush and smothered the puck and handled a slap shot from Ovechkin.

On a Capitals power play midway through the third, Neuvirth made another stand and always looked in control while facing an onslaught. VandeVelde scored an empty-netter with 30.8 seconds left to seal it.

The 33-shot disparity (44 to 11) tied the second-biggest margin by a losing playoff team since 1989-90, according to STATS.

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This was very Washington Capitals.

The Philadelphia Flyers managed only 11 shots in their Game 5 win over the fellas in D.C. on Friday night. Yet they won, 2-0, keeping their season alive, thanks to goaltender Michal Neuvirth.

Philadelphia's 11 shots are a club record for fewest in a playoff game in franchise history. After going up 1-0 at 7:52 of the second period, the Flyers managed four shots the rest of the way, according to Sportsnet's John Shannon. Bananas.

BTW, shot attempts were 82-27.

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 23, 2016

The last time a team fired so few shots on goal in a playoff game, it was May 13, 1998, according to TSN's Kevin Gibson. The Capitals were on the other end of that one, beating the Ottawa Senators - you guessed it - 2-0.

"I mean, it's just the playoffs," Neuvirth said 48 hours ago. "I like playing in the playoffs." No kidding, eh? He's stopped 75 of 76 shots.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) April 23, 2016

Hockey's wild. And the Flyers remain alive. Game 6 is at 12 p.m. ET on Sunday in Philadelphia.

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Chimeria hits Voracek across the letters. pic.twitter.com/Ry3y14ED9q

— Joe Dought (@JoeR35h93) April 23, 2016

Somehow, Jason Chimera only got two minutes for this hit on Jakub Voracek.

Unfortunately for the Philadelphia Flyers, their power play is currently operating without the whole "power" part.

As for Voracek, he doesn't think the Washington Capitals forward is all, uh, there.

pic.twitter.com/GTbTAyjxUY

— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) April 23, 2016

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Jim Nill is being as vague as possible when it comes to Tyler Seguin's status.

Prior to Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild on Friday, the Dallas Stars general manager was asked to provide an update on the injured center, who has missed the majority of the series.

The prognosis?

Seguin has a lower-body injury, is considered day to day, and it's not a long terms issue, Nill told Mike Heika of the Dallas News.

The injury that kept Seguin out of the final weeks of the regular season and Game 1 of the first-round series was to his Achilles, but it appears as something else may be hindering his ability to play.

Tyler Seguin just walked out of AAC with not a heavy, but certainly noticeable limp. A band of tape wrapped around his right upper calf.

— Brad Townsend (@townbrad) April 22, 2016

If the Stars can finish off the Wild on Friday, it'll afford Seguin extra time to get ready for round two, especially if other series around the league go long.

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The Philadelphia Flyers will not go down without a fight.

Literally.

Shortly after the opening faceoff in Friday's Game 5, Flyers forward Brayden Schenn and T.J. Oshie of the Washington Capitals - two unlikely combatants - dropped the gloves and engaged in attempts at face punching.

The tilt was likely a spillover from Game 4, when Schenn caught Evgeny Kuznetsov with a vicious slash to the back of the legs.

And after that, the real hockey began.

The Flyers are facing elimination.

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If the ultimate aim is to find out whether a goal is good or not, then the NHL's replay system is working just fine.

That's Gary Bettman's assessment early in the postseason, at least.

Speaking at a meeting with The Associated Press Sports Editors on Friday, the league commissioner addressed the use of the coach's challenge to rule on offsides and goaltender interference on potential scoring plays, arguing for accuracy above all else.

"It starts with, which is more important, to be fast or to get it right?" Bettman asked rhetorically, according to Jesse Spector of The Sporting News. "I know there's been some criticism about, 'Get rid of the whole system! It takes too long!' The fact of the matter is, does it really matter if the skate is this much offside? Well, yeah, it matters.

"Frankly, if we don't get it right, and it's an important or deciding factor in the game, we're going to hear about it."

The major complaint has been the amount of time taken to make a ruling on marginal offsides, the depletion of goal scoring as a result of overturned calls, as well as the size of the screen used to review the play.

The process, Bettman added, remains a work in progress.

"It's a close call sometimes, and sometimes it's a hard call to make," Bettman continued. "Our guys are doing the best that they can to get it right. That's the most important thing. The more we do it, the faster it will get. We added cameras on the goal line for the playoffs. We added cameras in the crossbar. We're constantly trying to move forward with the technology that's available to us."

Suffice it to say the conversation will continue throughout the playoffs and into next season, especially if it affects the outcome of the Stanley Cup Final.

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If this were the NBA's slam dunk contest, we'd give this one a 50.

The Carolina Hurricanes' social media team fired back with the perfect reply to a criticism of Joakim Nordstrom's two-year extension Friday afternoon.

And boom goes the dynamite. pic.twitter.com/mgsnQNZ7hW

— Cory Lavalette (@corylav) April 22, 2016

The exchange attracted a slew of users piling on in predictable, yet hilarious fashion.

@NHLCanes @JackHoleck pic.twitter.com/ga6ztw89eX

— PPenguins (@58hockeyfan58) April 22, 2016

@NHLCanes @JackHoleck pic.twitter.com/e9tc33LaLF

— Vincent Magnarella (@vincemags) April 22, 2016

@NHLCanes @JackHoleck pic.twitter.com/qTVAC7PaOW

— Brian Sloane (@Brian_Sloane) April 22, 2016

Holek deleted the tweet and locked his account afterward.

Here are the rest of the replies, which are still coming in more than two hours later.

It's nice to see the Hurricanes winning, even if it's off the ice.

- With h/t to Deadspin

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It's shaping up to be the shortest spring in five seasons for the Broadway Blueshirts.

The Pittsburgh Penguins can return the favor from last season Saturday afternoon and end the New York Rangers' playoff bid in similarly swift five-game fashion with a victory on home ice.

Here are three reasons why for the first time in a long while the Rangers don't appear as though they'll sniff a second round:

Laboring Lundqvist

Most pundits would side with New York's Henrik Lundqvist when assessing which team has the advantage in net, even with Marc-Andre Fleury healthy and available for the Penguins.

But through four games in this series, one of the most tested, consistently dominant postseason performers has been outmatched by another team's depth.

Journeyman Jeff Zatkoff and rookie sensation Matt Murray, each with two starts, have conceded seven goals in four games, and stopped pucks at a combined rate .938 clip. Lundqvist, meanwhile, was beaten nine times on 90 shots before being pulled early in the second period of Game 4.

Really, it's unfair to single out Lundqvist, but his save percentage, clinging at .900, is a far cry from his career average under the brightest lights.

Real special

Pittsburgh's special teams were formidable this season, finishing eighth in combined power play and penalty kill. But rarely did they sizzle like this.

The Pens have scored seven times on 19 opportunities against New York's kill, including three in their Game 4 shellacking at Madison Square Garden. What's perhaps more impressive though, is a penalty kill that's allowed one goal on 16 opportunities.

Factor in a shorthanded goal per side and the Penguins hold an 8-2 margin on special teams. What better formula to combat New York's enduring 5-on-5 success (at least in terms of scoring).

Burners

No, it's not as simple as the net difference from Carl Hagelin trading in a blue sweater for black. But the speed in which the Penguins are using to dominate the Rangers was actually a strength of New York's when the teams met last year.

But since Mike Sullivan removed the team's governor - unleashing an inner break-neck tempo - the Penguins have been dominating the opposition, and have overwhelmed a plodding Rangers defense with its pace.

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RALEIGH, N.C. - Joakim Nordstrom and the Carolina Hurricanes have agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension. The team also said Friday that it reached a deal with defenceman Jake Chelios on a one-year, two-way contract. Nordstrom ha...

Darryl Sutter doesn't often criticize officials, but with his team on the brink, he's drawing attention to them.

The Los Angeles Kings head coach believes his team should have been on the man advantage more often after losing 3-2 in Game 4 and falling behind 3-1 in the series.

"I know the theme today is: 'San Jose's power play.' I'd say the game for me is, 'How come we didn't have more?'" Sutter told reporters Thursday night, according to Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times.

"We have a good power play too. There's missed calls in the third period. When it's 3-2, there should've been some calls, clearly. There's two hooking, tripping penalties, they've got to call them. I mean, if they're going to call what they did call …

"There (have been) a lot of special teams in this series. They've scored five and we've scored three and a short-handed goal, so they're plus one - but plus-one might've been (the difference) last night, and we might've been playing overtime until 3 this morning if they'd have given us one more. We didn't get the call."

The Sharks converted on five of their 18 power-play chances in the series, while the Kings scored three times in 13 opportunities with the man advantage.

Sutter says he's spoken to the supervisor of officiating for the series every day.

"It's not in a (complaining) mode, or a correction-officer mode," he said. "It's just, 'What'd you think?' or 'Should've that been?'

"We've seen some funny ones this series, if you look at it. Five-on-three they scored, and neither (referee) knew that the other guy was calling the penalty. But it is what it is. It's the first round, and they go from how many officials down to who they feel are the 20 best referees. You know what? Those guys are trying to get another round too, so it's not easy for them."

Game 5 is Friday night at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

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