Varlamov, Ovechkin Dominate Game Two Win

First, the scariest news for the Pittsburgh Penguins after the Caps' thrilling 4-3 win last night: the red, white and blue has a lot of room for improvement. Playing in front of a raucous crowd, Alex Ovechkin delivered a signature performance and Simeon Varlamov saved the Caps time and time again as the home team went up 2-0 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby got the headlines for their dueling hat tricks -- and rightfully so. Each superstar carried their respective team on their back in an uber-important game. Both lived up to the hype surrounding the series in completely different ways.

Ovechkin's goals, especially his two in the third period, were products of his never-say-die personality. Ovie willed the Caps to a win in a game that the Pens dominated for long stretches. Ovechkin was his MVP-self again, something that hasn't always been the case in the playoffs.

His first goal was on a beautiful back-door play that was tried several times before success. The later two were on wrist shots that Pens goalie Marc-Andre Fleury had no shot at stopping. It was a performance for the ages for a player that still puts the victory ahead of anything else.

"It doesn't matter if I score or somebody else scores, it's more about winning the games," Ovechkin said.

Not to be outdone, Crosby's three goals all came from in front of the net. The first two were a result of Mike Green's inability to tie him up and the third, in all likelyhood, was a garbage goal in a game that was no longer in doubt: Caps up by two goals, down two men and less than a minute remaining.

"I think if you look at our goals and where we scored them from, that's a pretty good formula for what we need to do," Penguins Coach Dan Bylsma said. "I'm going to talk to a lot of players -- talk about things we did well and didn't do well and situations we're going to see again from the Capitals that we need to expect."

"There's not a lot of difference between the two teams right now. It's one play here and there," Crosby added. "There's not a lot of room for error."

But Varlamov was the reason the Caps had a chance at all. He kept the home team in the game time after time and repeatedly made key save after key save. He had lots of help in front of the net from his teammates, but he also fought off many Pens with the ease of a grizzled veteran. It was almost like he simultaneously was channeling Patrick Roy and Dominik Hasek.

Although he's just 21, Varly is showing the signs of elevating himself to elite status. He's always ready for the puck -- evidenced by his save in the first period at the end of the Pens' second power play. A goal there could have given them a 2-0 lead, but Varly kept it close.

"He competes really hard and he doesn't get down if a goal goes in against him, which is really good. I think he can let it go, so far anyway from what I've seen," Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "So that's a good sign."

"All playoffs, I don't like to talk about him," Ovechkin added, somewhat tongue in cheek. "You can ask him."

Varly is stopping nearly everything he sees; all of Crosby's goals last night were either through heavy screens or via a virtual rugby scrum.

"He's made some timely saves. I still think we can do a better job of burying the puck and capitalizing on our chances. The difference is a few inches," Crosby said. "He battles and he competes and there are times where he's out of position and he finds ways to get a piece of his body on it. So as a shooter, you have to make sure you bear down and we really have to correct that quickly."

The Caps didn't do everything right last night. For one, Green clearly isn't the player he was during most of the regular season. In fact, Green's inability to clear the puck out of the defensive zone led to Crosby's second goal. Green also didn't look comfortable mucking it up in a defensive posture in front of his own net.

"We had a good start to the series. We have to keep going to do the same. It's going to be a battle, the whole series," Nicklas Backstrom said. "It's going to be tough."

"We've always been able to come back, I believe. We've got the guys that never quit," Boudreau said. "They've been down numerous times in championship games and they've come back. I'm pretty sure of their character and I know that they would never quit."

Also, when Alex Semin was caught out of position, he didn't hustle back into the play like Ovie does. Yes, Sasha made some nice plays but he also lallygagged around for long stretches.

"Well, we got a little bit lucky, too, I think. There was a couple times that they had us on our heels. They are a very good hockey team," Brooks Laich said. "Even when we got that fourth goal, they [kept] coming back. The game is played till the final buzzer. It's nice to get wins at home, but now we go into Pittsburgh -- which is a very tough place to play -- and we're going to have to be better."

Despite all the bad, Varly kept the Caps in the game -- and Ovechkin won it for them.