Key intangible stat: Ovechkin had five of Washington's 12 shots on goal through two periods and the Capitals had goals off of two of them. Crosby had a strong stat line with an assist, three shots on goal, seven shot attempts, three hits and four takeaways. But he struggled in the faceoff circle, winning eight of 18 faceoffs.
Best moment: As big as Ovechkin's power-play goal at 4:04 of the first period could have been, it was his assist on T.J. Oshie's power-play goal at 4:00 of the second period that made the biggest difference. The Penguins had scored a power-play goal of their own to tie the game 3:04 after Ovechkin scored, but Oshie's goal, scored off of a rebound of Ovechkin's one-timer from the left circle, gave Washington a lead it kept for the rest of the game. The best part about that sequence was how Nicklas Backstrom basically forced the Penguins' penalty-killers to focus on him as he controlled the play from the right-wing circle and half wall. He eventually got the puck to John Carlson at the point. Carlson moved it to Ovechkin, who had time and space to unleash his one-timer. Matt Murray made the save, but the Capitals crashed the net and Oshie scored. That said, let's not take anything away from Ovechkin's goal. He scored it on a one-timer from the left circle that beat Murray over his glove and into the top right corner. It was a vintage Ovechkin power-play goal.
Series stat line (goals-assists-points): Ovechkin 2-3-5; Crosby 0-2-2
Crosby said it: "I don't think we sat back. I don't think we took anything for granted. I thought we generated chances. That's playoff hockey. Sometimes you play well and lose. They capitalized on some chances, but we did a lot of good things."
Ovechkin said it: "When we have pressure, it's kind of our time. The guys responded well. We have great group of guys here, who are stepping up [for] each other and believing in each other. We just have to do the same, play hard and we'll see what happens."
