Straka's goal in OT sends Penguins into next round
By TOM WILLIAMS
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
PITTSBURGH -- After 73 minutes where it seemed neither team wanted to win, the NHL's fourth-leading scorer in the regular season lifted the Pittsburgh Penguins to the next round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
After his team gave back leads of 2-0 and 3-2, Pittsburgh's Martin Straka ended the Washington Capitals' season with a goal 13:04 into overtime. The 4-3 victory at Mellon Arena in Game 6 was the Penguins' sixth playoff victory over Washington in seven series since 1991.
The sixth-seeded Penguins, who won the series 4 games to 2, advanced to play fifth-seeded Buffalo in the Eastern Conference semifinals, starting Thursday.
"What an emotional roller coaster it was out there," Penguins defender Bob Boughner said. "We were up two and thought we were gonna close them out, but they get one cheap goal and come back."
Straka's goal erased the frustration of blown opportunities.
Lost puck: The winning play began when Capitals defender Sergei Gonchar lost control of the puck as he approached his own blue line.
Straka swooped in, batted the puck towards the Capitals goal, then pounced on it before Washington goalie Olaf Kolzig could move out for a steal.
Straka pulled Kolzig down then lifted the puck over his body into the net.
"It was a lousy way to lose the game where the puck bounces over the guy's stick," Capitals coach Ron Wilson said. "It leaves you with a very empty feeling.
"If we could have somehow found a way to win, I don't know how much Pittsburgh would have had [in Game 7 tonight]. They were huffing and puffing, and really hanging on.
"They got the lucky bounce in overtime, and a skilled guy who hadn't really done much in the series was able to put it away."
Top goal: Straka, who's notorious for having problems on breakaways, called the goal "number one" on his career best list. "I've never scored before in overtime."
Straka said things happened too quickly for him to wonder about whether Kolzig might skate out for a steal. "All I wanted to do was get the puck up high on him."
During the third intermission, Straka said teammates were advising each other to shoot high on Kolzig.
"The guys in the locker room said he's going down on every shot," said Straka, who remembered his breakaway attempt against Kolzig in Game 3. "I tried to shoot low and he was there."
With about 2:40 remaining in regulation, Washington defenseman Calle Johansson made up for a first-period mistake by scoring the overtime-forcing goal against Penguins goalie Johan Hedberg.
Pittsburgh took a 3-2 lead on a goal with seventh-tenths of a second remaining in the second period.
Capitals defenseman Ken Klee pulled down Jaromir Jagr on a breakaway attempt with 7.7 seconds remaining, creating a 4-on-2 for the Penguins.
Long shot: Exactly seven seconds later, Alexei Kovalev's 40-footer from along the boards hit the net.
"The one thought I had is that if the puck gets to me, shoot it as quickly as possible," Kovalev said.
The Capitals dominated the first period, but Pittsburgh grabbed a 2-0 lead on its second and third shots.
The first goal, a power-play created by an interference call on Klee, was a fluke. Just inside the blue line, Kovalev backhanded the puck towards the slot where it bounced off defenseman Calle Johansson's skate onto Mario Lemieux's stick.
Uncovered in the slot, Lemieux pulled Kolzig out of position, then tapped an easy backhander into the net for a 1-0 lead.
Doubled it: Moments later, the Penguins doubled the advantage when Robert Lang picked up the puck off defenseman Rob Zettler's stick just outside the blue line, then broke free to beat Kolzig on the goalie's glove side.
The Capitals got back into the game late in the second period when a tame shot by Brendan Witt hit Pittsburgh defenseman Darius Kasparaitus' stick and ricocheted past Hedberg.
After Straka was penalized for high sticking, Jeff Halpern beat Hedberg from about 5 feet out to tie the score at 2.