Capitals eliminate Flyers

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 Sunday to reach the second round of the NHL playoffs where he will go head-to-head with Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Goaltender Braden Holtby stopped all 26 shots he faced for the shutout as the Capitals took the series four games to two, advancing one day after the Penguins booked their second round spot by beating the New York Rangers in five games. When the Capitals and Penguins begin their Eastern Conference series it will mark the first time Canada’s Crosby and Russia’s Ovechkin will clash since their memorable seven-game, second-round series seven years ago. The Penguins won game seven 6-2 before going on to beat the Detroit Red Wings for the Stanley Cup title. On Sunday, Holtby stopped attempts from Jake Voracek and Wayne Simmonds midway through the third, and remained impervious when the Flyers pulled goaltender Michal Neuvirth for an extra attacker with 1:38 remaining. The Capitals had finally put a puck past Neuvirth 8:59 into the second period. Ovechkin made a strong play to keep the puck in the offensive zone, moving it to Marcus Johansson who fed Nicklas Backstrom for the one-timer. Backstrom’s goal broke a shutout streak of more than 106 minutes for Neuvirth. The Flyers scored just six goals in the six-game series. They managed to fend off elimination in two straight games after falling behind 3-0 in the series thanks largely to the efforts of Neuvirth, who replaced Steve Mason after game three. The Dallas Stars also clinched their first-round playoff series with Minnesota Sunday by beating the Wild 5-4. First period goals by John Klingberg, Jason Spezza and Patrick Sharp gave Dallas a commanding lead and helped withstand a furious Minnesota comeback, as the Stars won the series 4-2. In the night game, John Tavares forced overtime by scoring in the final minute of regulation and then scored the game-winning goal with 9:19 left in second overtime as the New York Islanders eliminated the Florida Panthers with a 2-1 win in game six. New York will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the NHL quarterfinals beginning later this week. — Agencies