Day 5 Round 2 NHL Playoffs 2009

Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby squared off for game 2 Monday night, and a pair of hat tricks for the superstars completed what was another tight and closely-contested game that lived up to and then blew away all expectations of the series.

Washington Capitals vs Pittsburgh Penguins: Washington wins 4-3 (Washington leads series 2-0)

Alexander Ovechkin scored a hat trick, with his third goal proving to be the game-winning, as it put the Capitals up 4-2 with less than 5 minutes left in the third before Crosby netted his third of the night with less than a minute remaining in the period to make it 4-3. But it was a game that the Penguins had full control of until the dying minutes of the second period, when David Steckel scored a tying goal to lead up to Ovechkin's second and third goals of the night. Varlamov was once again spectacular, and Crosby's 3 goals were him finding very small rebounds in front of the net, where the Capitals defense should have cleared the Kid out of the crease in the first place. Marc-Andre Fleury, however, was not spectacular, as all three of Ovechkin's goals were one-time blasts from above the faceoff circles, with no screens in front.

Two tight games resulted in two 1 goal wins for the Capitals, so although the series is led by Washington 2-0, it is a very likely possibility the Penguins will tie it up in Pittsburgh 2-2. Even if Washington leaves the Igloo with a 3-1 series lead, game 5 will be critical, as it will be the second of a back to back, with travel between the games as well. The scheduling so far by the NHL for the Washington vs Pittsburgh series has been genius, as the first two games have been the only games of the day and both produced fantastic, edge-of-the-seat dramatic results. But the game 4 and game 5 transition is one of the poorest decisions in playoff history in terms of scheduling, and the team to survive that may end up taking command of the series and eventually winning it.