The second round of the playoffs are upon us, with only one non-favored seed from the first round advancing. Each post will contain an entire series.
Game 1: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC. In goal: Matt Murray for the Penguins and Braden Holtby for the Capitals. Washington started in the first period with an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, his fifth of the postseason, made possible by Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson. The Capitals added on in the third period with an Ovechkin goal, his sixth of the playoffs, via Wilson and Dmitry Orlov. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Patric Hornqvist goal, his third of the postseason, courtesy of Justin Schultz and Jake Guentzel. The Penguins tied it with a Sidney Crosby goal, his seventh of the playoffs, passed from Huentzel and Hornqvist. Pittsburgh took the lead with a Guentzel goal, his seventh of the postseason, coming off of Crosby. The final stood from here at 3-2, with the three stars being Guentzel, Crosby, and Hornqvist, while Ovechkin and Wilson get the honorable mentions. The Penguins have a 1-0 series lead.
Game 2: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC. In goal: Matt Murray for the Penguins and Braden Holtby for the Capitals. Washington opened in the first period with an unassisted Alex Ovechkin goal, his seventh of the postseason. The Capitals added on with a Jakub Vrana power play goal, powered by Lars Eller and the goalie Holtby. Washington extended the lead as Brett Connolly scored in the second period, thanks to Eller. Pittsburgh got on the board with a Kris Letang goal, his second of the playoffs, helped along by Justin Schultz and Jake Guentzel. The Capitals iced it at 4-1 with a Nicklas Backstrom empty net goal, his third of the postseason, set up by Tom Wilson and Eller in the third period, with the latter earning a sock trick. The three stars were Eller, Holtby (32 for 33 in saves), and Vrana. The series heads to Pittsburgh tied at 1.
Game 3: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In goal: Braden Holtby for the Capitals and Matt Murray for the Penguins. Washington got going in the second period with a John Carlson power play goal, his second of the postseason, powered by Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin. Pittsburgh tied it on a Jake Guentzel goal, his eighth of the playoffs, via Justin Schultz and Sidney Crosby. The Penguins took the lead with a Patric Hornqvist power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, with assists provided by Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel. The Capitals tied it again with a Chandler Stephenson goal, his second of the playoffs, passed from T.J. Oshie and Backstrom. Pittsburgh took the lead back with a Crosby goal, his eighth of the postseason, helped along by Guentzel and Kris Letang. Washington tied it in the third period with a Matt Niskanen goal, fueled by Dmitry Orlov and Tom Wilson. The Capitals won 4-3 with an Ovechkin goal, his eighth of the playoffs, assisted by Backstrom, who earned a sock trick. The three stars were Backstrom, Ovechkin, and Crosby, while Guentzel gets an honorable mention. The Capitals are now ahead 2-1 in the series.
Game 4: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In goal: Braden Holtby for the Capitals and Matt Murray for the Penguins. Pittsburgh dented the scoreboard in the second period with a Jake Guentzel goal, his ninth of the postseason, made possible by Dominik Simon and Sidney Crosby. Washington tied it on a T.J. Oshie power play goal, his fourth of the playoffs, powered by Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Penguins took the lead back with an Evgeni Malkin power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, via Patric Hornqvist and Phil Kessel. Pittsburgh iced it at 3-1 in the third period with a Guentzel power play empty net goal, his second of the game and tenth of the playoffs, going in unassisted. The three stars were Guentzel, Malkin, and Murray (20 for 21 in saves). The series heads back to DC tied at 2.
Game 5: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC. In goal: Matt Murray for the Penguins and Braden Holtby for the Capitals. Pittsburgh began in the first period with a Jamie Oleksiak goal, passed from Derick Brassard and Conor Sheary. Washington tied it on a John Carlson power play goal, his third of the postseason, powered by Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie. The Capitals took the lead with a Brett Connolly goal, his second of the playoffs, via Jakub Vrana and Lars Eller. The Penguins tied it again in the second period with a Sidney Crosby power play goal, his ninth of the postseason, with assists provided by Phil Kessel and Justin Schultz. Pittsburgh took the lead with a Patric Hornqvist power play goal, his fifth of the playoffs, with helpers from Evgeni Malkin and Kessel. Washington retied it in the third period with a Kuznetsov goal, his sixth of the postseason, made possible by Vrana and Matt Niskanen. The Capitals pulled ahead with a Vrana goal, his second of the playoffs, coming off of Alex Ovechkin and Kuznetsov. Washington added on with an Oshie empty net goal, his fifth of the postseason, going in unassisted. The Capitals iced it at 6-3 with an unassisted Eller empty net goal, his third of the playoffs. The three stars were given to Kuznetsov, Vrana, and Oshie, while Eller and Kessel get the honorable mentions. The Capitals leave home with a 3-2 series lead.
Game 6: PPG Paints Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In goal: Braden Holtby for the Capitals and Matt Murray for the Penguins. Washington kicked off the scoring in the second period with an Alex Chiasson goal, via Nathan Walker and Jay Beagle. Pittsburgh tied it on a Kris Letang goal, his third of the postseason, assisted by Brian Dumoulin and Sidney Crosby. The Capitals won 2-1 in overtime with an Evgeny Kuznetsov goal, his seventh of the playoffs, passed from Alex Ovechkin and Dmitry Orlov. The three stars were Kuznetsov, Chiasson, and Holtby (21 for 22 in saves). The Capitals won the series 4-2, setting them up for the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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