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BOX SCORE
WASHINGTON (AP) – The Pittsburgh Penguins are well known for
their offensive prowess. They are showing the Washington Capitals
some defensive skills as well.
Mario Lemieux had a goal and an assist in the first period,
scoring on his first playoff shot on goal since 1997.
|  | | Rookie goalie Johan Hedberg earned his first career playoff victory by making 17 saves vs. the Caps on Saturday. |
But it was the Pittsburgh defense that won the game, holding the
Capitals to one goal for the second straight game, as the Penguins
evened up the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at one game apiece
with a 2-1 victory Saturday.
"They built a wall," Capitals coach Ron Wilson said. "We
couldn't seem to generate much."
The Penguins ended the first period leading 2-1 and spent the
rest of the game successfully slowing the Washington offense. The
Capitals had just eight shots on goal in the last two periods
combined.
"We turned the tables on them a little bit," Lemieux said.
"We put a lot of pressure on them."
Lemieux had been held without a shot on goal in Thursday's game,
which the Capitals won, 1-0. This time, he had just one shot, which
proved to be the game-winning goal.
Jaromir Jagr took the puck from behind the net and skated with
it until he saw Lemieux, then fired it through traffic. The puck
first hit a Capital defender before winding up in front of the
Penguins' player-owner. Lemieux then pushed it past Olaf Kolzig
with 3:26 left in the first period.
"I don't think they practice that play," Kolzig said. "The
puck just found him. He's not one of the greatest players in the
world for nothing."
Lemieux and Jagr assisted on Pittsburgh's first score, a
power-play goal by Kevin Stevens, at 7:13 of the first period. Just
over two minutes later, with the Caps on a power play of their own,
Peter Bondra scored his second goal of the series to tie the game.
Trevor Linden and Sergei Gonchar assisted.
The Caps spent the first 3:42 of the second period with a man
advantage, thanks to a four-minute high-sticking penalty called on
Pittsburgh's Alexei Kovalev with just 18 seconds left in the
opening stanza. But they failed to score, although Sylvain Cote hit
the post on one shot.
"If we were an inch either way, we would have tied the game,"
Wilson said. "The fork in the road is a post. You don't know how
it's going to go after that."
The Capitals went more than 10 minutes without a shot on goal
during the period, but the Penguins were unable to get the puck
past Kolzig. Cote stopped a breakaway by Penguin center Martin
Straka, and then Pittsburgh goalie Johan Hedberg returned the favor
by stopping Trevor Linden's bid for a game-tying goal.
The best-of-7 series moves to Pittsburgh for Games 3 and 4, and
both teams expect to continue the defensive battle.
"This is the way the series is going to be," Stevens said.
"This is just going to be a hard-fought series. It's going to go
back and forth for a long time."
Game notes
All the penalties also were in the first period. ...Bondra's
goal was his 26th in the playoffs, making him the Caps' most
prolific post-season scorer. He had been tied with Dale Hunter at
25. ...The Penguins ended a three-game losing streak to the
Capitals, including the regular season. ...Pittsburgh has won 23 of
the 38 playoff games between the clubs. ...The Caps held the lead
in their victorious opening game for 39:25 – more than the 36:39 that
they led during the entire five-game playoff series that they lost
to the Penguins in 2000.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Pittsburgh Clubhouse
Washington Clubhouse
Penguins-Capitals Series Page
RECAPS
Detroit 4
Los Angeles 0
Buffalo 4
Philadelphia 3
San Jose 1
St. Louis 0
Pittsburgh 2
Washington 1
Edmonton 4
Dallas 3
Toronto 3
Ottawa 0
Colorado 2
Vancouver 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Jaromir Jagr passes through traffic to Mario Lemieux, who finds the back of the net for a Penguins goal.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Washington's Peter Bondra fires a slap shot past Johan Hedberg for a power-play goal.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Kevin Stevens tips the Mario Lemieux shot past Olaf Kolzig for a score.
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RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
 Mario Lemieux says the Penguins got more chances to score in Game 2 against the Capitals.
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RealAudio: 14.4 | 28.8 | 56.6
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