WASHINGTON _ The Penguins arrived in the nation's capital this week knowing they'd have to win at least once at Verizon Center to make it out of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
In a season where the Penguins were admittedly not at their best on the road, and this place was no exception. They dropped both games here, by the combined score of 12-3.
Sidney Crosby and Nick Bonino made sure the Penguins got the road win they knew they needed right off the hop. Crosby scored a pair of goals and Bonino picked up the game-winner midway through the third period to produce a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of their second-round series on Thursday.
Game 2 will be Saturday at 8 p.m. The Penguins have already broken serve in a big way.
_Despite winning eight of their nine playoff series against the Capitals, the Penguins had also dropped eight of their nine Game 1s against Washington, the lone exception a 7-0 win here in 2000.
_In their history, the Penguins entered this one 30-33 all-time in Game 1s, including a 7-18 mark on the road.
_Although a 7-3-2 push late in the regular season helped, the Penguins' 19-15-7 road record was decidedly ordinary, a stark contrast from the 31-6-4 mark they posted at PPG Paints Arena.
Crosby had plenty to do with Thursday's outcome, scoring a pair of goals early in the second period. Bonino, a Capitals killer a season ago, broke a 2-2 tie with a goal at 12:36 of the third, taking advantage of poor spacing by the Capitals, a stretch pass from Ian Cole and a nifty setup from Scott Wilson.
Plenty of credit, too, goes to goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who did not turn into a pumpkin. Instead, Fleury picked up right where he left off in the opening round, stopping 33 of 35 shots to earn his 58th career postseason win.
There were no better moments for Fleury in this one than what transpired with less than three minutes to go. John Carlson and Marcus Johansson had Grade A chances. Fleury, bumped by Alex Ovechkin and without a stick, did enough to keep the puck out of his net.
That Bonino did what he did against the Capitals should come as no surprise. He, Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel, the HBK line, punched up seven goals and 18 points in that series.
After a solid first period from the Penguins, Sidney Crosby gave them a 2-0 lead with a pair of goals 52 seconds apart earl in the second.
His first came off the opening faceoff of the second period.
Former Penguin Matt Niskanen got caught in the neutral zone, and Jake Guentzel fed Crosby on a two-on-one break.
The second, at 1:04, featured a nifty past in the slot from Patric Hornqvist. Olli Maatta shot from well above the left circle. Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby fumbled the rebound, and Hornqvist made a quick, three-foot dish to Crosby, who came barreling in with speed.
It marked the ninth multi-goal playoff game for Crosby, his third at Washington. Crosby now has 51 multi-point games in the playoffs, tying co-owner Mario Lemieux for the franchise lead.
In the second half of the middle period, however, the Capitals began to seize the momentum, and their push coincided with a couple of big hits.
Dmitry Orlov blasted Tom Kuhnhackl. Carlson crushed Evgeni Malkin. Ovechkin made it count when he went high short side with a nasty snipe from the top of the left circle at 18:17 of the period to cut the Penguins' lead to 2-1.
The Penguins had to hang on for dear life at the end of the second period, with Fleury making several crucial stops. It appeared they had steadied themselves enough, but Evgeny Kuznetsov converted a feed from Niskanen to tie the game at 2 at 8:05 of the third period.
Starts were one of the confounding parts of the Penguins' five-game series victory over the Blue Jackets in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals. They were outshot, 71-39, and outscored, 5-3.
Against the Capitals, the Penguins were outstanding defensively during the opening 20 minutes. Gaps were tight. They did an excellent job of denying passing lanes, several times knocking pucks out of their air with their sticks.
Their finest defensive play, however, came from an unlikely source.
Late in the period, Ovechkin shot from the top of the left circle to begin the sequence. Fleury made the stop with his chest. The puck bounched around the slot. T.J. Oshie had a scoring chance, but Jake Guentzel used his left skate to prevent the goal.
