PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins finally discovered a few holes in rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov's game, and his glove, and are now in a familiar position in the playoffs against Washington. They're surging, and the momentum-less Capitals are slipping.
The Penguins shook off an opening-minute Washington goal, scored three times in less than 12 minutes in the first period against a suddenly vulnerable Varlamov and beat the Capitals 5-3 Friday night to even the Eastern Conference semifinals at two games each.
The Capitals won't get much time to regroup and try to regain the momentum they gave up by losing twice in Pittsburgh, with Game 5 set for their home ice Saturday night.
Washington scored one-goal victories at home in each of the first two games as Alex Ovechkin scored a combined four goals, but he was shut out for the first time in the series Friday while being constantly shadowed by defenseman Rob Scuderi.
Ovechkin wasn't a factor while being held to only two shots, while Penguins star Sidney Crosby had a goal and an assist.
Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is unhappy at playing twice in two nights in two cities, all because of a Yanni concert in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. He may be even more displeased with the Capitals' first major letdown in the series, which may have prevented them from taking a 3-1 lead back home for a possible close-out game.
HURRICANES 4, BRUINS 1: At Raleigh, N.C., Eric Staal scored two goals to break the club career playoff scoring record, and Carolina pushed top-seeded Boston to the brink of elimination. The Hurricanes lead the Eastern Conference semifinal series 3-1. Game 5 is Sunday night in Boston. Jussi Jokinen scored the go-ahead goal at 2:52 of the third and assisted on the two goals that followed, and Sergei Samsonov added a goal for the Hurricanes.