Alex Ovechkin earned his first playoff hat trick and the Washington fans went wild throwing red caps onto the ice, so many that Sidney Crosby wanted fans to be told to stop throwing them. Moments later, Crosby earned his first postseason hat trick and less than six hats made their way onto the ice. This is better than zero for not being in Pittsburgh.

Interesting, the two biggest stars that don’t care much for each other, their teams are rivals had their biggest playoff performances face to face. But Ovechkin’s hat trick is the only one that paid off and his team defeated the Penguins 4-3.

Ovechkin vs. Crosby:

Whoever doesn’t believe that these two men don’t have almost the exact amount of talent is crazy. They both had about the same amount of time on ice, the same amount of goals, close to the same amount of touches and shots. Just like Saturday’s game, Crosby gave the Pens an early lead in the first period. He was responded by Ovechkin in the second period and it was back and forth since then.

The Capitals are playing a completely different series against the Pens then the Rangers. While they began that series 0-2 and no Ovechkin goals, they are now 2-0 with 4 Ovechkin goals.
One name you haven’t heard much in the series is Evgeni Malkin of Pittsburgh. He led the league in points during the regular season, and he has now failed to score in the past five games. He even committed the tripping penalty against Ovechkin which gave him the set up of his next goal.

The Eastern Conference semifinal series moves to Pittsburgh for Wednesday's Game 3. From 1991-2001, Washington lost five series in which it blew a lead against Pittsburgh, including 2-0 advantages in 1992 and 1996.