Spotlight On Round 2, Part 2

Eastern Conference:

Pittsburgh Penguins v. Washington Capitals (WSH leads 1-0)

Well, well, well... I'm sure Gary Bettman is loooooving this.

The Capitals have taken the early lead with a 3-2 win over the Pens, and seem to be rolling at present. The most key part of their success? No, not AO, but another Russian- Simeon Varlamov, the goalie who has apparently relieved Jose Theodore of his duties for a while. And has he ever! In seven playoff starts, he is 5-2 with a 1.29 goals against average and a .950 save percentage. And he's won four straight games prior to today's matchup. Meanwhile, the Penguins, while holding the lead in shots, have suffered on the PP tremendously, and that is hurting them when you consider that they have had 17 PP opportunities over four games, and have not capitalized on any of them. Special teams definitely count in the playoffs, and if Pitt doesn't figure something out soon, they may be finding themselves out a bit earlier than expected.