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nhl playoffs roundup

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The young Washington Capitals finally seem to be getting the hang of this thing called playoff hockey.

With just the right mix of brawn and skill, the Capitals stayed alive Saturday by knocking the Philadelphia Flyers off stride early and holding onto the lead with another solid game from goaltender Cristobal Huet, winning 3-2 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series.

Nicklas Backstrom, Sergei Fedorov and Alexander Semin scored the goals — one in each period — Huet made 30 saves, and league MVP candidate Alex Ovechkin made up for another frustrating offensive effort by depositing Jim Dowd headfirst into the Philadelphia bench for the highlight hip-check of the game.

Vaclav Prospal scored for the Flyers in the second period, and Derian Hatcher made things interesting when he scored with 4:43 remaining — less than one minute after Semin’s power-play goal had given the Capitals a 3-1 lead.

The Flyers still have a 3-2 lead in the series and will have another chance to clinch in Game 6 at home on Monday.

The Capitals, in the playoffs for the first time since 2003 with a build-from-the-ground-up team, showed their playoff inexperience when were dominated in the first three games of the series. They stole Game 1 with a third-period comeback, but their best game before Saturday was the double-overtime loss in Thursday’s Game 4, when they started to match the physical play of the Flyers.

They kept it up Saturday, committing two roughing penalties in the first minute and outhitting the latest version of the Broad Street Bullies 22-9 in the first period. The Flyers were outshot 12-4 in the period and didn’t put a puck on goal in the final 15 minutes.

Bruins 5, Canadiens 4

BOSTON — Marco Sturm kept Boston’s hopes alive when he scored with 2:37 left and the Bruins overcame three deficits to beat the Canadiens and force a seventh game in Montreal.

The Bruins, who lost all 20 previous best-of-seven series in which they trailed 3-1, will try to complete their bid to eliminate the top-seeded Canadiens in Montreal on Monday night.

Sturm scored after rookie goalie Carey Price stopped his first shot but failed to control the rebound. Sturm collected it, skated across the crease from left to right, and a sprawling Price couldn’t get to the other side in time.

The Bruins still have a chance to win a playoff series for the first time in nine years.