The better team won. Sidney Crosby got it started appropriately enough with a power play goal from where else but in front rebounding home a Sergei Gonchar shot. Eight seconds later when grinder Craig Adams tallied his first career postseason goal off a horrible Washington breakdown, that foretold a long night for Alex Ovechkin and the Caps who were just outclassed by a better Pens team 6-2 in the nation’s capital.

How bad a beatdown was it? The Caps had an egregious 11 giveaways after one period yet only trailed by two thanks to rookie netminder Simeon Varlamov. However, that didn’t stop the Pens all out attack from chasing the poor 21 year-old Russian with veteran Bill Guerin and defenseman Kris Letang scoring 1:44 apart before the 2:15 mark of period two.

By then with Jose Theodore in, it was fairly obvious that the home club just wasn’t right and wouldn’t be able to overcome their defensive deficiencies. In particular, Alex Semin and Mike Green had nightmarish games each turning the puck over four times while finishing a combined minus-five. Both players failed miserably in this series and will now get all summer to contemplate what went so wrong.

Jordan Staal scored the Pens’ fifth straight from in front setup by Miro Satan, who actually showed more of a pulse than the aforementioned MIA Cap stars. He had two assists finishing the series with four helpers. Not bad.

Of course, Ovechkin tried all game to lift his sagging team but it just wasn’t to be. Yes. He scored a gift wraparound into an open net following the only real mistake Marc-Andre Fleury made. But by then, his eighth goal of the series came unassisted cutting it to 5-1 with 21:51 left in their season.

Perhaps the turning point came early when the Great 8 got a breakaway getting past Rob Scuderi but Fleury didn’t go for the deke making a great lightning like glove save to deny the league’s Rocket Richard winner. Soon after, Shaone Morrisonn took an unnecessary slashing penalty which Crosby converted. Then Adams scored going five-hole on Varlamov stunning the sea of red. The Caps never recovered getting outshot 16-5.

They just were never in it. Crosby setup Guerin, who beat Varlamov with a clean unscreened wrister from the right wing 28 seconds into the second. Then Evgeni Malkin dished across for Letang, who was a star in this series netting his third goal. It was his overtime winner in Game 3 that gave the Pens enough life to rally back from a 0-2 deficit victimizing the Caps again for a third consecutive time. They’ve only lost one series to them in eight.

So, a great series had a small conclusion without any drama. I can only recall the year the Red Wings won the Cup in 2002 when Patrick Roy laid an egg against Dominik Hasek following his Game 6 gaffe that the Avs never recovered from. I think the score was something like 8 7-0. Well, I was close.

It was a sad way for it to end. Fittingly, with the Caps shorthanded trailing by four early in the third, Ovechkin was out for a rare PK shift. With the team pressing shorthanded, Green foolishly forced a pass back instead of shooting. Then Ovie tried to make a move and Crosby cleanly stripped him and walked in on a clean breakaway from the red line faking before opening Theodore’s five-hole. It was the Pens’ captain’s series matching eighth goal of the series. He was every bit as brilliant as Ovechkin finishing with 13 points. Sure. Maybe AO had 14 but who cares? His team lost. Not his fault. But hey. It’s a team oriented game.

After the handshake between the two stars, Crosby gave credit to his team’s D which was very underrated in this series. Letang played well as did Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill, who each saw plenty of Ovechkin. Even Mark Eaton contributed in both ends and Brooks Orpik played his traditional physical style. In the end, the Pens’ superior blueline was too much for the Capitals to overcome. It was nice to see Gonchar comeback and play netting an assist on Crosby’s opener which set the tone. And during the handshake, there was Ovechkin talking with his fellow countryman about the knee on knee collision. It looked like an apology. You could tell the respect they had for each other.

The Caps did try hard the rest of the period but only got a hardworking goal from the gritty Brooks Laich, who combined with Tomas Fleischmann. But 6-2 was as close as they would get with the Pens shutting it down the rest of the way.

Credit the Cap fans who remained for sending their team off the right way with cheers and chants of, “Let’s Go Caps, Let’s Go Caps, Let’s Go Caps!!!!!” It had to be extremely difficult to know their team would once again fall short against an old Patrick nemesis. But they did themselves proud standing and saluting their team who did likewise at the bitter end.

And so this epic battle has come to an end. Now, the Pens await the Carolina-Boston winner in another Game 7. Hopefully, that will be a little more competitive.

Here are the Pens in their second straight Conference Final though. A pretty darn good accomplishment considering where they were when Michel Therrien got axed. Dan Bylsma’s done a great job. But so too were the deadline moves for Guerin, Chris Kunitz and even Adams, who improved to 3-0 in Game 7′s. He was on the 2006 Stanley Cup champion Hurricanes. So go figure that he’d save his first ever postseason goal for tonight helping crush Cap hopes.

With it now finished, there’s little doubt who the leading candidate for the Conn Smythe is. That would be Sid The Kid who’s played unbelievably leading by example. Some say he scores all his goals from in tight. So, they’re not as flashy as Ovie. But they all count the same. And last I checked, going to the net is required to score in crunchtime. I still don’t like Crosby when he gripes to the refs but the man has played great this Spring. Let’s give credit where it’s due.

Funny but in some aspects, he reminds me of a better Zach Parise with more skill. Doesn’t Parise score most of his goals from in close? Pretty much. And he’s solidified himself as a top six forward.

And so, Crosby’s Pens live to play another day. Who will it be? We’ll know sometime tomorrow night.

In almost 24 hours, the second season will get started for John Tortorella’s Rangers when they visit superstar Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals in D.C.  If they did what was required by winning the final three to earn a fourth straight trip to the postseason and the East’s No.7 seed, then by no means will they be favorites against an explosive offense led by the game’s best player.

What the Rangers will attempt is to neutralize Ovechkin attacking a suspect D and veteran goalie Jose Theodore as much as possible, utilizing the more aggressive style that helped salvage a disappointing season. They should be able to score in this series and will call upon Henrik Lundqvist to come up with the momentum turning saves. If they get the goaltending, then perhaps an upset could be in the cards.

Let’s take a look at how the old Patrick Division rivals- who haven’t met in the playoffs since 1994 when the Blueshirts ousted the Caps in five games Conference Semis en route to a Stanley Cup- stack up:

FORWARDS-It’s pretty obvious that the high powered Capitals should have a decided edge boasting league leading finisher Ovechkin (56 goals, 110 Pts) along with super soph Nicklas Backstrom (22-66-88), Alex Semin (34 goals, 79 Pts, +25) and roving defenseman Mike Green (31-42-73, +24 in 68 GP), who basically is an extra threat who must be contained. Their secondary scorers shouldn’t be underestimated either featuring Brooks Laich (23 G), Tomas Fleischmann (19 G), Viktor Kozlov (41 Pts), Eric Fehr (12 G) along with the proven Sergei Fedorov (22 assists) and Michael Nylander (24 A). All this explains why Washington finished third in offense behind only Detroit and Boston.

Conversely, the Rangers had the third worst offense totaling only 200 goals excluding the shootout. It will take a total team effort. Their best players must perform which means Scott Gomez (16-42-58, 7 GW) must elevate his game off a disappointing second year on Broadway. Nik Zherdev (23-35-58) was up and down all season and awfully quiet down the stretch. That can’t happen. Chris Drury (22-34-56, 10 PPG) came on the final month but missed the final game and didn’t practice. He must be healthy. Nik Antropov (7-6-13 in 18 GP) has been a solid contributor whose size and skill have been a welcome sight. Top finisher Markus Naslund (24 goals) did little until the last week. Is that a good sign? Expect the Blueshirts to get contributions from Ryan Callahan (22 goals, SHG, +7), Sean Avery (12 Pts in 18 GP, 34 PIM) and rejuvenated soph Brandon Dubinsky (13 G, 28 A, 7 GW). Each must get involved physically.

Edge: Capitals

DEFENSE-Green (25:45 TOI) headlines a group that is solid but unspectacular. That includes former Ranger ‘fan fave’ Tom Poti (13 Pts, 28 PIM in 52 GP), who gets important minutes (21:08) as does Jeff Schultz (19:45). Milan Jurcina and John Erskine provided physicality and Shaone Morrisonn can move the puck. Bruce Boudreau will rely on Green a ton in all situations. They can be attacked.

A huge storyline to this series is how Marc Staal (15 Pts, 64 PIM, 21:07) will fare against Ovechkin. Tortorella has used the former 2005 No.1 pick along with partner Dan Girardi (18 helpers, 53 PIM, 21:31) as a shutdown pair. Both will need to be physical on Ovechkin limiting time and space. It will be trial by fire. Wade Redden (23 assists, 51 PIM, -5) has been a nightmare but does log crucial minutes (22:20). Michal Rozsival (8-22-30, 3 PPG, 22:30) has looked better since returning playing more steady which must continue. It would also help if he shot the puck. Paul Mara (5-16-21, 94 PIM  in 76 GP) quietly was the Rangers’ best defenseman and Derek Morris (8 A, 4 PPA, +3 in 18 GP) has been a good pickup showing the ability to make good reads along with smart outlets. He also has a rocket from the point.

Edge: Rangers

GOALIES-Washington GM George McPhee gambled on Theodore to replace Cristobal Huet. The one-time Hart/Vezina winner has been alright posting a 32-17-5 record along with a 2.87 GAA, .900 save percentage plus two shutouts. On most teams, those mediocre numbers wouldn’t be good enough. But on a high scoring run and gun team, it has. He’ll be asked to make timely saves in this series. Will he be up to the challenge? He’s the wild card in the series.

Henrik Lundqvist was an NHL All-Star for the first time establishing a new career high in wins (38) while putting up solid numbers across the board (2.43 GAA, .916 Sv Pct, 3 SHO) on a lowscoring team. It’s true enough he wasn’t always consistent but enters playing his best hockey of the season. He’ll have to be in tip top form and might need to steal a couple of games. This will be a huge test.

Edge: Rangers

Special Teams-Special teams are always important at this time of year. The good teams execute cashing in on opponents’ mistakes. This series pits the No.2 rated power play (Wsh-25.2) against the top ranked penalty kill (NYR-87.8 percent). Even though the tandem of Blair Betts and Freddy Sjostom are as good as it gets, it’s still advisable for Tort’s club to stay disciplined. The Caps have many weapons which is why it might be wise. The Ranger PK can attack having scored nine shorthanded goals and the Cap PP did give up 11 during the season.

As for the Ranger powerless play, they’ve driven fans nuts all year placing second to last converting at only a 13.9 clip. If there’s an area the coach must get untracked to win this series, it’s the man-advantage. They also allowed the second most shorthanded goals (14) in the league with just Calgary (15) worse. The encouraging news is they haven’t permitted one since the coaching change. Washington’s PK was middle of the pack (80.6 percent-tied 17th) but scored seven SHG.

Edge: Even

Coaches-Boudreau is in his second year and has guided the Caps to two consecutive Southeast Division Titles. He’s certainly done an admirable job turning this team into one of the better ones in the league. He can motivate. The question is what did he learn from last year’s first round ouster to the Flyers?

Tortorella boasts experience having been behind the Tampa Bay bench when they won the Cup in 2004. He’s fiery and demands a lot out of his players. If someone doesn’t perform, Tort won’t be afraid to bench them. He will doubleshift the players who are going and tinker with lines when things aren’t working. Can he outfox Boudreau?

Edge: Even

Intangibles-The Capitals believe they’re better than a year ago and ready to make some noise. So, there’s some pressure to deliver. Losing again in the first round would be a bitter pill to swallow following such a good season. The Rangers will also be expected to perform under Tort, who doesn’t take to losing well. Still, the pressure really isn’t on them in this series which might work to their advantage.

Edge: Rangers

Prediction-In assessing this series, it becomes clear that it’s basically offense against defense. Well, really the goaltending of Lundqvist to be exact. The Ranger blueline looks to have an edge. It might all depend on if the forwards score enough or what kind of series develops. A wide open one favors Ovechkin’s club. But a tighter series where defense and timely saves could factor in would bode well for the Blueshirts. They also haven’t performed well on the road winning just four times in the final 19. Plus the Caps went 29-9-3 at Verizon Center. Washington has never been kind to the Rangers. Due to that, it seems like almost too many things have to break right for them to pull it off.

Capitals in 7