Capitals Beat Flyers, NHL Scores

Early in the third period, a Flyers fan held up a sign directed at Washington that read, "You'll choke."

Not these Capitals -- and certainly not against punchless Philadelphia.

Nicklas Backstrom scored, Braden Holtby had 26 saves, and the Washington Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 1-0 on Sunday in Game 6 to win the series 4-2 and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Capitals will play the Pittsburgh Penguins in a marquee matchup of Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.

"It's going to be a hard series," Ovechkin said.

The Capitals scored two goals over the final three games of the series and clearly need more from Ovechkin & Co. to have a chance against the Penguins, who beat the Rangers in five games.

Stars 5, Wild 4

The Dallas Stars were cruising into the second round, dominating their slumbering opponent, when the Minnesota Wild jolted awake.

Minnesota's remarkable rally ended a fraction of an inch short, a fitting metaphor for an intensely up-and-down season. Dallas advanced in the playoffs for the first time in eight years, extracting some valuable experience from a nerve-racking finish.

Jason Spezza scored his fourth goal of the series and added three assists, and goalie Kari Lehtonen and the Stars needed every last one of them to hold off the Wild 5-4 on Sunday and wrap up the first-round series in six games.

"A lot of respect for what Minnesota can do on their side," said Patrick Sharp, who had one of three first-period goals for Dallas. "It was a tough series, but we're happy about moving on."

John Klingberg, Jamie Benn and Alex Goligoski also scored for the Stars, who will face the winner of the Chicago-St. Louis series, which is tied at 3. The Blues host the Blackhawks in their decisive Game 7 on Monday night.

Islanders 2, Panthers 1

The New York Islanders' long playoff drought is over. John Tavares tied the score in the final minute of regulation and got the winner at 10:41 of the second overtime, leading the Islanders past the Florida Panthers 2-1 Sunday night and into the second round for the first time since 1993.

"It's time we had to get over this hump and push forward," Tavares said. "I don't think we tried to put too much pressure on ourselves knowing we weren't here for all of that, but certainly a lot us have been here for a while and it was time for us."

Tavares skated in and fired an initial shot that Roberto Luongo saved, but the New York captain got the rebound, wrapped around the net and stuffed the puck in before the diving goalie could get back. It sent the sellout Barclays Center crowd into a frenzy and he was quickly mobbed by his teammates after ending the longest home game in Islanders history.

"When I got the rebound, I realized how far he came out," Tavares said. "I had a good step and just tried to, not take my time, but really make sure I had control of the puck. And obviously once you get around the net, make sure it goes in."

Sunday, April 24 Scoreboard

Washington 1, Philadelphia 0

Game 6 - Capitals won 4-2

Dallas 5, Minnesota 4

Game 6 - Stars won 4-2

NY Islanders 2, Florida 1(2 OT)

Game 6 - Islanders won 4-2

Monday, April 25 Schedule (All Times Central)

Anaheim at Nashville

Game 6 - Ducks lead 3-2, 7 p.m.

Chicago at St. Louis

Game 7 - Series tied 3-3, 7:30 p.m.

Tuesday, April 26 Schedule

No Games Scheduled