Talk about anticlimactic: Crosby, Penguins chase Varlamov early, beat Capitals 6-2 in Game 7

WASHINGTON — For a guy who supposedly shies from the limelight, Sidney Crosby was as good as could be in the first Game 7 of his career. The rest of the Pittsburgh Penguins were pretty close to perfect, too. Crosby scored twice to raise his NHL-leading playoff goal total to 12, his teammates shut down his big rival, Alex Ovechkin, most of the night, and the Penguins beat the Washington Capitals 6-2 on Wednesday to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the second consecutive season.

Talk about anticlimactic: Crosby, Penguins chase Varlamov early, beat Capitals 6-2 in Game 7

WASHINGTON — For a guy who supposedly shies from the limelight, Sidney Crosby was as good as could be in the first Game 7 of his career.

Red Wings hope home-ice advantage pays off vs. Ducks in Game 7 matchup of past 2 Cup champions

ROMULUS, Mich. — The previous two Stanley Cup champions are meeting in the playoffs for the third time since the NHL expanded four decades ago.

Kane has hat trick as Blackhawks beat Canucks 7-5 to advance to Western Conference semis

CHICAGO — The hats came flying out of the seats and littered the ice at the United Center. The roar of the crowd was so loud that Chicago coach Joel Quenneville had trouble calling out line changes.

David Steckel’s OT goal wins it, Capitals force Game 7 by beating Penguins 5-4

PITTSBURGH — David Steckel scored on a deflection of Brooks Laich’s shot and the Washington Capitals finally won an overtime playoff game, beating nemesis Pittsburgh 5-4 on Monday night to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Steckel’s OT goal wins it, Capitals force Game 7 by beating Penguins 5-4

PITTSBURGH — The Washington Capitals supposedly can’t win without Alex Ovechkin scoring. They can’t win an overtime playoff game. They can’t beat the Pittsburgh Penguins when a series is on the line.

Unlucky Presidents’ Trophy claims another team, as Sharks join long list of playoff flameouts

The San Jose Sharks are already home for the summer, left to admire the Presidents’ Trophy that honors a stellar regular season but now also magnifies another empty postseason.

Kris Letang’s goal 11:23 into OT gives Penguins 3-2 win over Capitals; Caps lead series 2-1

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins finally solved Simeon Varlamov, finally controlled Alex Ovechkin for most of a game and got the victory they needed to get back into their playoff series against the Washington Capitals.

Cam Ward’s shutout boosts Carolina to 3-0 win over Boston, 1-1 tie in playoff series

BOSTON — The “desperate” Boston Bruins kept firing shots at Cam Ward. The “rock” of the Carolina Hurricanes kept stopping them.

Saturday’s NHL Playoff Sums

First Period_None.

Second Period_1, Pittsburgh, Staal 1 (Satan, Orpik), 5:17. 2, Washington, Ovechkin 9 (Poti), 6:16. 3, Washington, Backstrom 3 (Fedorov, Ovechkin), 14:35 (pp).

Sharp scores twice to help Blackhawks rally, tie series with 6-3 win over Canucks

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Down often so far during the playoffs, the young Chicago Blackhawks never feel as if they’re out of any game. An early, two-goal hole didn’t faze them one bit Saturday night. Patrick Sharp scored twice to tie it and David Bolland put Chicago ahead with a short-handed breakaway to help the Blackhawks tie their second-round playoff series at a game apiece with a 6-3 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night.

Sharks coach Todd McLellan can’t get too excited about nomination for top coach award

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Any good coach would understand why Todd McLellan wasn’t exactly jumping for joy about the major coaching honor he received Friday.

NHL Playoff Preview Capsules

Capsules of NHL second-round series:

Flyers captain Richards to have surgery to repair torn labrum in right shoulder

PHILADELPHIA — Flyers captain Mike Richards will have surgery this week to repair a torn labrum in his right shoulder, and also needs surgery on his left shoulder and faces to 10 to 12 weeks of rehabilitation.

Monday’s NHL Playoff Sums

First Period_1, Chicago, Kane 2 (Byfuglien, Versteeg), 2:20 (pp). 2, Chicago, Burish 1 (Byfuglien, Versteeg), 10:11.

Duck coup! Anaheim ousts top-seeded Sharks with 4-1 win in fight-filled Game 6

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Although the San Jose Sharks wouldn’t go down without a fight or two, the Anaheim Ducks can take a punch as impressively as they took this playoff series from the NHL’s best regular-season team.