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23-APR-2008: Philadelphia Flyers' Joffrey Lupul celebrates his
game-winning goal against the Washington Capitals during the overtime
period of Game 7 of an NHL playoff hockey series, Tuesday, April 22,
2008, in Washington. The Flyers won 3-2 in overtime to take the
series. (AP Photo/Nick Wass) [Photo copyright 2008 by AP]
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WASHINGTON - The Philadelphia Flyers and San Jose Sharks don't have much time to rest up for the NHL's conference semifinals, but at least they made it with Game-7 victories. Joffrey Lupul scored a power-play goal at 6:06 of overtime to give the Flyers a 3-2 win over the Capitals in Washington.LAST MINUTE TRAVEL DEALS Lupul snuffed out a Washington comeback in which the Capitals erased a three-games-to-one deficit and scored the game-tying goal tonight. Alexander Ovechkin knotted the score late in the second period. But Philly advanced with its second power-play goal of the night. The Flyers now prepare for the top-seeded Montreal Canadiens, who also blew a 3-1 series lead before advancing. The Sharks have a conference semifinal meeting with Dallas after scoring four straight goals in the second period of a 5-3 triumph over Calgary. The Sharks trailed 2-1 until Jeremy Roenick scored twice in a three-minute span of the middle period. Roenick also had two assists and Joe Pavelski provided the eventual game-winning goal. Lupul found space in front of the net to get a backhander past Cristobal Huet for his first postseason goal after Washington's goalie had deflected Kimmo Timonen's shot. There were 9 seconds left in the Flyers' man advantage after defenseman Tom Poti was sent off for tripping - the first penalty since the second period in a rough-and-tumble game that suited Philadelphia's style. The Flyers avoided what would have been a monumental collapse and won a playoff series for the first time since before the lockout: In 2004, they reached the Eastern Conference finals. Now Philadelphia, which had the worst record in franchise history last season and the fewest points in the NHL, will play the top-seeded Montreal Canadiens in the conference semifinals. Washington, meanwhile, dropped to 1-5 in Game 7s and is still waiting for its first playoff series victory since 1998, when it made it to the Stanley Cup finals. The Capitals will have to take solace in getting to the postseason for the first time since 2003, managing a remarkable turnaround under career minor league coach Bruce Boudreau, who took over for the fired Glen Hanlon on Thanksgiving with the team 6-14-1 and last in the 30-team NHL. Led by Ovechkin, who topped the league with 65 goals and 112 points, Washington slowly climbed up the standings and won its last seven regular-season games - and 11 of its final 12 - to claim the Southeast Division championship. He scored twice Monday night as Washington won at Philadelphia to force Game 7. And Ovechkin had a hand in both of Washington's goals Tuesday, assisting on Nicklas Backstrom's opener 5:42 into the game, then scoring himself to make it 2-2 about 15 1/2 minutes into the second period. Otherwise, Flyers goalie Martin Biron was brilliant, turning aside 39 shots. He came into the game with an 0-5 record when playing on the second of consecutive nights, a statistic coach John Stevens acknowledged was a concern before Game 7. Biron was particularly good during the third period in which the Flyers were outshot 16-5. With about 6 minutes left in regulation, he preserved the tie by throwing his body backward to beat Alexander Semin to a rebound and smother the puck. Ovechkin made his presence felt from the outset. Just 1 1/2 minutes in, he delivered a big hit on Timonen along the boards behind net, separating the defenseman from his stick. Minutes later, Ovechkin slammed another defenseman, Braydon Coburn, into the glass. After Philadelphia went ahead 2-1 on goals by Scottie Upshall and Sami Kapanen, Ovechkin gathered a pass from Brooks Laich near the blue line and - snap! - uncorked a shot that Biron didn't have time to even try to move into position to stop. It was Ovechkin's fourth goal of his first NHL playoff series and prompted loud chants of "M-V-P!" from the red-clad, sellout crowd of 18,277. He celebrated by windmilling his left arm, sliding along one knee, then bouncing face-first off the glass. By late in the game, though, Ovechkin appeared winded. When he had a chance on a breakaway in the third period, he sent a wild pass toward Sergei Fedorov that led to the Flyers heading the other way. Kapanen's goal was effectively an empty-netter and surely will be a topic of discussion. Right before a loose puck made its way to Kapanen, Philadelphia's Patrick Thoresen gave Shaone Morrisonn a shove, and the Washington defenseman plowed into Huet, knocking the goalie off his skates. The NHL posted an explanation on the Web, saying Thoresen legally body checked Morrisonn and no Philadelphia player made contact with Huet. That reasoning apparently didn't make its way to the fans, who yelled insults and curse words at the on-ice officials. Notes:@ This was the 30th Game 7 in NHL history to go to overtime. ... Players 24 or under scored 18 of Washington's 20 goals in the series. ... After missing the first six games of the series, Flyers RW Steve Downie made his playoff debut. ... Poti played despite getting hit in the head by another player's stick in Game 6. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
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