Watching Sidney Crosby pull ahead in a superstar showdown, Alex Ovechkin decided to take matters into his own hands.
Ovechkin scored a hat trick, including the winner late in the third period, to lift the Capitals to a thrilling 4-3 win over the Penguins Monday night at the Verizon Center.
Washington's victory spoiled a marvelous performance by Crosby, who also registered a hat trick.
"It's a great atmosphere and when you win the game it's an unbelievable feeling," Ovechkin told Hockey Night in Canada. "People want to see great players play well. Both teams played well and Sidney played great tonight. He scored three goals and brings energy to the team.… He's good."
While the showdown is tied in goals — Ovechkin and Crosby have four apiece — the Capitals are off to a flying start.
The NHL club now has a 2-0 series lead in its Eastern Conference semifinal with the Penguins.
Ovechkin and Crosby are more than living up to their immense hype and so, too, is this series, with the Capitals skating away to a pair of one-goal triumphs.
Washington took advantage of a careless tripping penalty by Pittsburgh centre Evgeni Malkin to forge ahead 3-2 with less than eight minutes remaining in the game.
After a faceoff win, Ovechkin rifled a one-timer to the short side of Fleury.
"Lots of goalies stop me, but I have too many chances to score goals, so sometimes the puck goes into the net," Ovechkin said of the plethora of shots his continues to register on a nightly basis.
He fired 12 at Fleury on Monday.
Malkin, on the other hand, remains a disappointment through the first two games.
Smelling blood, Ovechkin sealed the victory with 4:22 remaining, using Pittsburgh defenceman Sergei Gonchar as a screen before sending a wrist shot over the glove of Fleury — resulting in a flood of red caps onto the ice by the sold-out crowd in honour of his first career playoff hat trick.
"Sick game. Sick three goals by me and Crosby," said Ovechkin, who celebrated by bouncing his body high off the glass following both of his third-period goals.
"It's unbelievable to see how fans react, how fans go crazy. The atmosphere right now, it's unbelievable in town. You see all the red, and — probably I'm afraid to go home right now."
Following a second round of hats that descended to the ice, Crosby chatted with the referee regarding the long delay.
"People kept throwing hats," Crosby said. "And I was just asking if he could make an announcement to ask them to stop."
For his part, Crosby gave the Penguins a chance, netting his third goal of the game by batting a fourth opportunity behind Varlamov on the power play with only 31 seconds left.
In the end, Ovechkin got the help that Crosby didn't receive.
"It's nice to score," said Crosby. "But it's better to win. I'm sure it's entertaining for people to watch, if I were to look at it from a fan's point of view. As a player, you don't like when the guy on the other team gets a hat trick. That's usually not a good sign."
Standing in front of Varlamov, Crosby spotted the loose puck and slipped the shot between the pads of the Washington goaltender.
Ovechkin viewed Crosby's goal from the penalty box as he was serving teammate Alexander Semin's high-sticking penalty.
Like he did in Game 1, Varlamov completely robbed Crosby with Pittsburgh on a five-on-three advantage, taking away the one-timer by sticking out his left pad.
He quickly followed that up with a great glove save off Gonchar.
Ovechkin blasted a Viktor Kozlov pass that beat the out-of-position Fleury just inside the post.
Crosby, however, responded with his seventh goal of the playoffs at 10:57, giving the Penguins a 2-1 edge.
Feeding off Varlamov's terrific play, the Capitals tied the game nearly five minutes later. As the Penguins defence lost sight of Steckel, the Washington centre was able to convert a rebound under the left pad of Fleury.
Crosby: "Can you please ask them to stop throwing hats now?"
Quote
I like both of them and this series has been good to watch. Hope the pens can take the next two to keep it going.
