David Steckel scored 6:22 into overtime Monday to give the Washington Capitals a 5-4 win over Pittsburgh and a 3-3 tie in their Eastern semifinals. Brooks Laich took a shot toward the Pittsburgh goal which clipped the edge of Steckel's stick and dipped past Penguins goalkeeper Marc-Andre Fleury. Viktor Kozlov scored twice for the Capitals, who forced a deciding Game 7 in Washington Wednesday. Alexander Semin added a goal and an assist and Tomas Fleischmann also scored for the Capitals.

Alex Ovechkin had his first NHL career playoff hat trick Monday to lead Washington to a 4-3 win over Pittsburgh and a 2-0 lead in the Eastern semifinals. David Steckel scored the other goal for the Capitals, who hadn't won the first two games of a playoff series since the 2003 Eastern quarterfinals against Tampa Bay. Viktor Kozlov and Sergei Fedorov each had two assists and Washington goalkeeper Simeon Varlamov stopped 33 shots. Sidney Crosby had a three-goal game for the Penguins, who were also down 0-2 in their 2008 Stanley Cup Finals with eventual champion Detroit.

A third-period goal from Tomas Fleischmann Saturday lifted Washington to a 3-2 win over Pittsburgh in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal. Fleischmann's second goal this post-season snapped a 2-2 tie at 1:46 of the third following assists by Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin. Rookie netminder

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby is on day-to-day status following an injury in a game against Washington, a team report said Thursday. Crosby did not practice Thursday, the day after he collided with Washington's David Steckel and suffered a lower body injury in a 6-3 loss to the Capitals. The Pittsburgh captain's status was uncertain for a Friday home game against the Anaheim Ducks. I need to see if I can skate so tomorrow (Friday) morning I'll test it out and see how I feel, Crosby said. Crosby missed 29 games last season because of a high-ankle sprain. Coach Michel Therrien said he was concerned when his young center hit the ice after the collision with Steckel. That's what you're first thinking, Therrien said.