Ovechkin and Crosby Trade Goals, But Caps Claim Victory

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↵Disclaimer: I don’t watch a ton of hockey. I did, however, kill it with the Canucks in NHL 2K3. Miss you, Bertuzzi. But even a neophyte like me can appreciate the incredible heat for the Game 1 matinee in Washington, D.C. The Capitals and Penguins put on quite a show (no ‘bows), with Washington pulling out a 3-2 win thanks to a tie-breaking goal by Tomas Fleischmann.
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↵Fleischmann’s goal came on a brilliant pass by Nicklas Backstrom ... and an awful defensive mishap by the Pens. Fleischmann just slipped in behind the defense and had an easy goal, as you can see above. Marc-Andre Fleury would have needed a twin to block it.
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↵On the other end, shortly after giving up a bad, bad goal from about 30 feet, Caps tender Simeon Varlamov made an crazy save on a Sidney Crosby duck. Varlamov spun back and deflected The Kid’s shot away just a sliver from the threshold. Crosby seemed sure it had crossed; the save was quite nearly magical on review. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said during an in-game interview he hasn’t talked to Varlamov since naming him the starter one game into the postseason. I imagine that silence streak will be maintained.↵