Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins celebrates following his game winning goal against the Washington Capitals during game five of the NHL's Eastern Conference Semifinal. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWing Photo)

The Washington Capitals lost a heartbreaker on home ice against the Pittsburgh Penguins in overtime of game 5 of the NHL’s Eastern Conference Semifinal.

For more on the game please visit Eric McErlain’s post on NHL FanHouse.

Capital Fans Rock The Red

Enjoy the slideshow of pics from Game 5.

WASHINGTON, DC – May 4: The Capitals celebrate Alex Ovechkin’s third goal of the game, while fans throw hats onto the ice in honor of his hat trick. (Photo by Kate McGovern/OffWing Photo)

The Capitals won 4-3, with the other Washington goal belonging to David Steckel. Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby also earned a hat trick tonight, scoring all the Penguins’ goals.

The win gives Washington a 2-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Eastern Conference  semifinals. The Capitals will visit the Penguins Wednesday night for Game 3.

See a slide show from tonight’s game below. For a full recap, check out Eric McErlain’s coverage at the NHL FanHouse.

Goalie Simeon Varlamov of the Washington Capitals makes a save against the Pittsburgh Penguins. (Photo by Roland Pintilie)

Happily for the Washington Capitals this series against the Pittsburgh Penguins started differently than the previous series against the NY Rangers. It was the Caps that go up early with the win in game one with a 3-2 decision.

• Game Summary
• Shot Summary

Washington Goalie Simeon Varlamov was outstanding tonight. Center Brooks Laich put it this way, “I was stunned. I was like ‘Oh my God.’ I was amazed. I saw [Sidney] Crosby shoot and I was like ‘Aw that’s in,’ then he [Simeon Varlamov] just reaches back and grabs it and the whole bench was like ‘Wow, that’s out break, let’s get going, we got to smarten up and play better.’ Incredible.”

Alexander Semin falls to the ice during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins. (Photo by Roland Pintilie)

Capitals Head Coach Bruce Boudreau put into words what everyone knows, “I don’t know about Monday because we’re not there yet, but we’re in for a heck of a series because that’s a very good hockey club we’re playing.”

WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 22: Geico’s Cave Man cheers on the Washington Capitals during a NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on February 22, 2009 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWing Photo)

With today’s 5-2 victory over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins the Caps have now captured all three meetings so far this year. While the last win took last minute heroics, the Caps put this in the bag in the second period when the went up and held the 5-2 margin.

Enjoy the slideshow below by clicking on the photo. Then you can click on the square in the lower right hand corner for a full screen slideshow.

www.flickr.com    Off Wing Opinion’s 2009.02.22 Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins, Allen Clark/OffWingPhoto.com photoset

The 5-3 loss to the Pittshburgh Penguins makes getting into the playoffs that much tougher for the Washington Capitals. Joe Dumas, of OffWing puts it this way, “the two losses on the weekend make it that much harder for the Caps to sneak into the playoffs, as they are 6 points out of the 8th seed and 7 points out of the Southeast lead. With only 12 games to go, they need to do something special to make the postseason.”

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 9: Goalie Cristobal Huet and Shaone Morrisonn of the Washington Capitals protects the net during a NHL hockey game with the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 9, 2008 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWingPhoto.com)

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 9: Shaone Morrisonn of the Washington Capitals and Pascal Dupuis of the Pittsburgh Penguins struggle for control of the puck during a NHL hockey game on March 9, 2008 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWingPhoto.com)

WASHINGTON, DC – MARCH 9: Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals controls the puck during a NHL hockey game with the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 9, 2008 at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC. (Photo by Allen Clark/OffWingPhoto.com)