Lucky Bounce for Pens in Overtime Pushes Caps to the Brink

The Washington Capitals' have gone 0 for 7 in their last seven playoff games that have gone to overtime. Want something else to chew on? The Capitals are also now 0 for 8 all time in game five versus the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Capitals were led by their formidable one-two punch on the offensive end of the rink in Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom on Saturday night against the Penguins.

Ovechkin out-dueled opposing rival and Pittsburgh's star player, Sidney Crosby, by registering more goals, hits, shots on net, and a higher plus or minus rating. The "Great Eight" played with the same passion as he always does, which included some choice words for Pittsburgh's defenseman Brooks Orpik right after he scored his first goal of the game.

Backstrom played give and go with fellow teammate Sergei Fedorov in the second period, eventually resulting in a quick  slap shot-turned-goal.

The young Swede returned to doing what he does best, being a distributor of the puck, by setting up Ovechkin on the break for the game tying goal with four and half minutes left remaining in regulation.

All this production was factored into—most say—the Capitals' best outing in this second round series.

Yet they still found a way to lose.

In the first couple of minutes in the extra period, a possible breakaway opportunity was negated when Washington's defenseman Milan Jurcina was penalized for tripping Pittsburgh's other star forward Evgeni Malkin.

As a result, the Verizon Center's sea of red booed the call in a massive disagreement. The reason why the Capitals fan base was upset with the penalty is because previously, Alexander Semin was hurled in mid air by Pittsburgh's defensemen on the other end of the rink with no call whatsoever.

With just seconds remaining on Pittsburgh's power play, the Capitals' penalty killing unit had nearly opened the door for Jurcina to return to the ice when all of a sudden defenseman Tom Poti stretched out in a desperate attempt to breakup a crossing pass by Malkin.

But his efforts did not go as planned as the puck ricocheted off the heel of Poti's stick and sailed into the net, right under Washington's goalie Simeon Varlamov.

"It's Malkin, so you can't give him too much time and space," Poti said. "It became a 2-on-1 and I tried to go down to take the pass away and take away his angle coming to the net. He tried to make the pass and it ended up going off my glove and my stick or something. An unfortunate bounce."

The final goal brought immediate flashbacks to game three, when Kris Letang's winner was deflected in by defenseman Shaone Morrisonn.

The Capitals were dazed and in disbelief by what just took place as many die-hard fans continue to wonder if their team is in fact cursed when it comes to Pittsburgh and the playoffs.

Can positives be drawn from this defeat? Yes, the fact that the Capitals played 50 minutes of consistent hockey is encouraging. Crosby was also a non factor on a rare occasion.

However, the fact that they took their foot off the gas pedal for the other ten minutes is discouraging, especially considering they have to travel up to Pittsburgh for an elimination game, where the fans are rowdy and raucous, just like the Capitals'.

Looking on the bright side, this team has been down this road before. They were dealt this same hand of cards in last year's first round matchup with the Philadelphia Flyers, and most recently, with the New York Rangers.

"We certainly have experience in this situation," David Steckel said. "All hope is not lost. Nobody on this team wants it to end."