WASHINGTON — The Philadelphia Flyers finally figured out how to put away the Washington Capitals.
Joffrey Lupul put in a rebound during a power play 6:06 into overtime in Game 7 to lift Philadelphia past Alex Ovechkin and Washington 3-2 on Tuesday night in their Eastern Conference first-round series.
The Flyers led the best-of-seven series 3-1 before allowing the Capitals to pull even.
Lupul found space in front of the net to get a backhander past Cristobal Huet after Washington’s goalie had deflected Kimmo Timonen’s shot. There were 9 seconds left in the Flyers’ man advantage after defenseman Tom Poti was sent off for tripping — the first penalty since the second period in a rough-and-tumble game that suited Philadelphia’s style.
The Flyers avoided what would have been a monumental collapse and won a playoff series for the first time since before the lockout: In 2004, they reached the Eastern Conference finals.
Now Philadelphia, which had the worst record in franchise history last season and the fewest points in the NHL, will play the top-seeded Montreal Canadiens in the conference semifinals.
Washington, meanwhile, dropped to 1-5 in Game 7s and is still waiting for its first playoff series victory since 1998, when it made it to the Stanley Cup finals. The Capitals will have to take solace in getting to the postseason for the first time since 2003, managing a remarkable turnaround under career minor league coach Bruce Boudreau, who took over for the fired Glen Hanlon on Thanksgiving with the team 6-14-1 and last in the 30-team NHL.
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