Huet's 30 Saves Lift Capitals

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 today 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. 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. 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. (More NHL stories.)