Alex Ovechkin contributed a power-play goal, yet it was a few of his unheralded teammates on the Capitals who made the difference in Game 1 of their showdown against Penguins yesterday in Washington.

Tomas Fleischmann scored the tiebreaking goal with 18:14 remaining, rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov stopped 34 shots, and the Capitals got the jump on their Eastern Conference rivals with a 3-2 victory yesterday.

David Steckel contributed his first goal of the playoffs to help Washington to its first four-game winning streak in the playoffs since 1991.

Game 2 is tomorrow night in Washington.

Sidney Crosby and Mark Eaton scored for the defending Eastern Conference champion Penguins, who went 0-for-5 on the power play after going 1-for-18 in the final four games of their first-round series against Philadelphia.

Blackhawks 6, Canucks 3

In Vancouver, Patrick Sharp scored twice to tie it and David Bolland put Chicago ahead with a shorthanded breakaway to help the Blackhawks tie their second-round playoff series at a game apiece with a victory over the Canucks.

Down 2-0 after power-play goals by Sami Salo and Alexander Edler in the first seven minutes, Chicago took over Game 2 of the best-of-seven series with a strong second period.