Crosby scores twice as Penguins beat Caps

WASHINGTON - Sidney Crosby scored two goals in 52 seconds, Nick Bonino had the winner in the third period and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series on Thursday night.

Crosby versus Alex Ovechkin got much of the buzz heading into the showdown of two of NHL’s best teams, and Ovechkin collected his fourth goal of the playoffs. Evgeny Kuznetsov tied it in the third, but Marc-Andre Fleury made 15 of his 32 saves in the final period to help the defending Stanley Cup champions to the victory.

Crosby was a threat to score just about every time he touched the puck. He beat Braden Holtby with his first two shots of the second period.

Holtby stopped 18 shots, but he allowed Bonino’s goal at 12:36. Game 2 is Saturday night. The Capitals had waited since their Game 6 overtime loss to the Penguins a year ago for another shot at them, and coach Barry Trotz was among many who said it felt right for these teams to meet again. The NHL’s divisional playoff format put the top two teams in the regular season on this crash course to meet in the second round for one of the most anticipated series since, well, last year.

A rocking Verizon Center was electric through a goal-less first period, and the sellout crowd got a chance to boo quickly in the second period. When Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen lost the puck battle with Patric Hornqvist in the neutral zone, Crosby finished on a 2-on-1 with Jake Guentzel 12 seconds in.

At Senators 2, Rangers 1: Erik Karlsson scored on a bad-angle shot with 4:11 left in the third period, sending Ottawa to a victory over New York in the opener of their second-round playoff series.

The Senators captain beat fellow Swede Henrik Lundqvist from just above the goal line. The shot pinged off Rangers center Derek Stepan before going into the net.

It was Karlsson’s first goal and seventh point of the playoffs. The 26-yearold defenseman, who has been playing with a foot injury, also logged more than 28 minutes in the win. Game 2 is Saturday. Ryan McDonagh scored for New York, and Lundqvist finished with 41 saves.

Craig Anderson stopped 33 shots and Ryan Dzingel scored for Ottawa, which eliminated Boston in six games in the first round.

The Senators, playing in front of several empty seats, had a chance for a fast start, but went 0 for 3 on the power play during a scoreless first period.

Late Thursday

Oilers 5, at Ducks 3: Adam Larsson scored his second goal of the third period with 4:40 to play, and Edmonton blew a two-goal lead in a wild third period before beating Anaheim in their secondround playoff series opener.

Mark Letestu scored two power-play goals and Cam Talbot made 33 saves for the upstart Oilers, who seized home-ice advantage from the Ducks with a fourgoal final period.

Jakob Silfverberg scored the tying goal with 9:13 to play in regulation for the Ducks, who lost in regulation for the first time in 19 games since March 10.

Larsson scored just four goals in his first 85 games this season, but the Swedish defenseman improbably got two goals in 71⁄2 minutes. Game 2 is Friday night in Anaheim. Larsson got the winner when he skated behind the net and threw it in front. The puck banked off Anaheim defenseman Josh Manson’s skate and pinballed underneath John Gibson, who stopped 27 shots.

Leon Draisaitl added an empty-net goal for the Oilers.

— Wire services