Plight wasn't something the Washington Capitals dealt with readily during the regular season.

This is a team that shot out to an insurmountable division lead long before clinching the Eastern Conference with three weeks left in the regular season. They ended up with 120 points - or the most league-wide since the franchise racked up 121 six years prior.

So when their offense was sapped when the Philadelphia Flyers introduced Michal Neuvirth to the first-round series, and when they were clinging to a one-goal lead in their third chance to bury an inferior opponent, this iteration appeared to be experiencing something foreign.

But not unnerving.

"I think we've come full circle, where we're comfortable being uncomfortable, if you will," head coach Barry Trotz said after the decisive Game 6 win.

"Sometimes you're not going to get much, and you have to be patient. That's probably where we've grown the most: in patience and poise."

Of course, just because the Capitals were able to click it into cruise control at times this season doesn't mean they're without resolve. In fact, defenseman Karl Alzner calls overcoming adversity - whether it's erasing deficits or staying with a sputtering attack - the team's "calling card."

And that self-assurance has traveled all the way up to ownership.

"Even I felt stable," team owner Ted Leonsis said.

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With the reserve tanks bone dry after four-and-a-half taxing periods in Game 6, the superlative skill of John Tavares proved to be the only thing that could separate the New York Islanders from the Florida Panthers.

Here's the reaction to Tavares' historical overtime winner - a goal that sent the Islanders to their first series win in 23 years - in pictures.

Tavares' goal - a backhand wraparound after his first attempt was blocked - came in the 91st minute of action.

It was his second of the game, and the Islanders' third overtime winner of the series.

So they've had practice piling on.

Travis Hamonic, though, took a moment to appreciate the 41-save effort from Thomas Greiss.

All while Roberto Luongo lamented the 51st shot directed on him.

And finally, legend to legend - at least in Long Island.

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After undergoing a role reversal - of sorts - on the Stanley Cup schoolyard, Drew Doughty's now willing to set the record straight.

He and Logan Couture aren't really pals.

"I debated saying something but I didn’t. I don't know ... whatever. He can say whatever he wants. It doesn't really affect us," the Los Angeles Kings star defender said Sunday, according to Yahoo Sports' Josh Cooper. "I don't even know what to say about that."

He added: "To be honest everyone talks about this 'buddy' thing but we really aren't that close. We really aren't. We basically work out at the same gym and that's about it."

Doughty's revision, which corrects for an ongoing narrative about friendship and collective hockey upbringing in London, Ont., comes in response to Los Angeles' swift dispatching, but also Couture's biting remarks after the series.

"Throughout the last couple of years things have been said by players on that team that to me I take it as disrespectful," Couture said after Game 5.

"It's nice to stick it back to them and beat them in this series. Even in this series someone said on the team they had us right where they wanted us. Wonder if they have us where they want us right now."

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PHILADELPHIA - It's Ovie vs. Sid the Kid in the postseason, take II.

OK, Sidney Crosby isn't called a kid much at all these days, and he already has one Stanley Cup title.

And for Alex Ovechkin, well, it had been more like Ova and out in a postseason history littered with early exits.

But seven years after Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated Ovechkin's Washington Capitals in the lone playoff meeting between the two greats, they are ready for the rematch.

''Pittsburgh is huge,'' Ovechkin said. ''It's going to be a hard series. We'll see what's going to happen.''

The NHL world can't wait.

Ovechkin can, earning some needed rest after the 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 scored two goals over the final three games of the series and clearly need more offense from Ovechkin and Co. to have a chance against the Penguins, who beat the Rangers in five games.

Against the Flyers, it was just enough, though.

Braden Holtby had 26 saves for his second shutout of the series. He stymied a Flyers team that went a miserable 1 for 24 on the power play and failed to score on nearly 2 minutes of a 5-on-3 edge in the second period that doomed their chances.

Consider, the Penguins scored 11 goals total in their final two decisive wins against New York.

''The Penguins are obviously rolling, especially offensively, but we're confident in our game,'' Holtby said. ''We're confident in our game plan to shut teams down defensively and still have offense.''

The Capitals pushed Pittsburgh to the limit in a fantastic 2009 playoff series. The Penguins won in seven games in a series that had six games decided by one goal and three that were decided in overtime. Ovechkin had 14 points in the series and Crosby 13. The superstars had memorable dueling hat tricks in Washington's Game 2 victory.

The Penguins went on to win the Stanley Cup.

The Capitals, meanwhile, have not even reached the Eastern Conference finals since 1998. The reward for beating the Flyers: keeping alive the pursuit of the first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history.

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.

''It's a different group. The past is a different regime,'' Holtby said. ''We are trying to write our own history.''

Crosby and Ovechkin bring the star power.

The Caps are so much more than just their captain.

Ovechkin had an assist on Nicklas Backstrom's second-period goal that easily held against the Flyers.

Riding the momentum of Michal Neuvirth in net, the Flyers won two straight to force an unlikely trip home. Neuvirth was sensational again, but the Flyers were ultimately doomed by a power play that could not cash in against Holtby. The Flyers wasted nearly 2 minutes of a 5-on-3 power play in the second period that made a critical difference.

''We sacrificed our body 5-on-3,'' Ovechkin said. ''We paid the price and we won.''

Holtby, who had a 19-save shutout in Game 1, was barely tested with solid shots the last two games. The Flyers took only 11 shots against him in Game 5 and matched that feeble total midway through the second period, and failed on a two-man edge.

Backstrom's double minor for a high stick and Matt Niskanen's hooking penalty gave the Flyers 1:55 of a 5-on-3. The Flyers missed both shots with a two-man advantage. They later got hit with a penalty to make it 4 on 4 and wipe out the one-man edge.

''We just had to find a way to get a goal on the power play,'' Flyers captain Claude Giroux said.

The Flyers finished 0 for 3 on Sunday, but it's the 5-on-3 failure that will linger with them into the offseason.

The Capitals' penalty kill deserved credit, too.

''We watched a lot of their 5-on-3s and knew exactly what they were going to do,'' defenseman Karl Alzner said. ''Holtby made some big saves and that was the turning point.''

Backstrom helped Washington break Neuvirth's shutout streak that stretched 72 straight shots over nearly 110 minutes when he scored on a one-timer just below the circle with 8:59 left in the second period.

''Good pass, unbelievable shot,'' Neuvirth said. ''I don't think I could have stopped it.''

The Flyers, who made a late-season surge under rookie coach Dave Hakstol just to reach the playoffs, have not won the Stanley Cup since 1975.

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ST. PAUL, Minn. - Minnesota's dormant arena had jolted awake, with two goals in a 16-second span by the previously slumbering Wild early in the third period.

The Dallas Stars had their 4-0 lead sliced in half, and coach Lindy Ruff called his team over to try to stem the momentum with 15-plus minutes to play.

''Probably one of the most useless timeouts I've taken, because they couldn't hear a word I said anyway,'' Ruff said, ''But I was just trying to tell them, `Listen, we've got to play.' You've got to live that environment to get better at it.''

Though the Wild pulled even closer, coming within a fraction of an inch of tying the game in the final minute, the Stars prevailed with a 5-4 victory on Sunday afternoon to wrap up their Western Conference quarterfinal series in six games and extract some valuable experience from the difficult 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 reach the second round for the first time since 2008.

''A lot of things that you can take out of this that are good, a few things that are bad, but it's never easy to win a playoff series, especially against a tough team like Minnesota,'' said Patrick Sharp, who had one of the three first-period goals for Dallas.

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 entering their decisive Game 7 on Monday night.

''The veteran leaders are the guys that you need in a game like this to make a difference, and they get all the credit for leading the way for us,'' Ruff said.

Jared Spurgeon scored two of Minnesota's four third-period goals, both on the power play, and the Wild nearly tied the game with 34 seconds remaining when Nino Niederreiter crashed the crease for a loose puck.

Freeze-frame replays showed it in the net, but not fully across the goal line, as it connected with Lehtonen's right pad. The oh-so-close call was upheld by review.

''We knew they wouldn't go away. They didn't all series and we didn't expect them to now,'' Goligoski said. ''They made some great plays, and we made a couple mistakes but found a way. Sometimes it's just about winning games, especially this time of year, so we're happy we (sneaked) away with it.''

At the end of a sleepy second period, with the Wild and their fans seeming more than ready for summer vacation, Benn put the Stars in front 4-0 on his top-shelf shot. Benn had two assists and finished with 10 points in the series.

The Wild weren't ready to pack it in, though, as they proved during the torrid 20 minutes that followed.

In one of many odes throughout the afternoon to Minnesota's late musical prodigy Prince, the song ''Let's Go Crazy'' played on the sound system after each score by the Wild, who sent 16 shots at Lehtonen in the third period. Lehtonen finished with 25 saves and a 3-1 record in the series, but the Stars were all out of sorts down the stretch.

Those early goals added up, though, because the Stars only needed one more to seal it. They got a friendly bounce when Goligoski's shot bounced around the goal mouth and Devan Dubnyk didn't see it beneath him. Charlie Coyle lunged to try to keep it out, but the puck glanced off Dubnyk and in for a 5-3 lead with 9:32 remaining.

''I guess that's why you throw pucks to the net, but that was a tough time to get a bounce like that,'' said Dubnyk, who stopped 19 shots. ''The way the guys worked in the third period, I'm just proud to be back there and a part of that. Right to the end, we still managed to get within one and almost score there. That makes you feel sick to have to lose a game and a series on a bouncer like that.''

Jason Pominville slammed in a rebound with 4:47 left, setting up the frantic final flurry, but the Stars held on.

''I feel like we should still be playing,'' Wild defenseman Ryan Suter said. ''The way that third period ended, I thought, 'Man, just one more minute in that period and maybe we're going to keep going.'"

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The New York Islanders are living the dream.

It couldn't have been scripted any better. Down 1-0 in Game 6 at home, John Tavares tied it up with only seconds to play. Tavares then won it double overtime. Tavares, the captain, the franchise, sent New York to the second round for the first time in more than two decades.

It's reality.

"It was fitting," head coach Jack Capuano said after his club's dramatic win, according to Newsday's Arthur Staple. "(Tavares) gets the tying goal, then the winner on a great individual effort ... This is a resilient group."

And it is led, unquestionably, by Tavares. He beasted just to get the Islanders into the playoffs, in one of the more disappointing statistical seasons of his career. Turns out, he was waiting for the spring. Tavares finishes the first round with five goals and nine points in six games.

"Once he went around the net, I knew it was over," said Kyle Okposo, who's been riding shotgun with Tavares for years, and who assisted on the series clincher. "It was just ... elation. We made three huge plays in the series in OT and the biggest was (Sunday). To do it in front of our fans, play the way we did, I'm extremely proud of our group."

Okposo was drafted by the Islanders in 2006. Tavares in 2009. Travis Hamonic in 2008. Frans Neilsen in 2002. Brock Nelson in 2010. There's been ups, and there's been downs, but there's never been quite a high like this.

"It feels great to do it with these guys," Okposo added. "We grew up here together. To break through that invisible barrier that's been hanging over this franchise for the last 23 years, it's special. But it's also just one chapter in a book we haven't finished yet."

Monday's a new day for Islanders fans. A beautiful day. And the ride is only beginning. Bring on the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tavares, never the sexiest quote, was straight and to the point after what was arguably the biggest night of his career.

"Great to reward the fans, it's been a long time for them," he said. "A lot of us, we've been here for a while, so it feels good."

The man forever lets his play do the talking, and after Sunday, you have to respect him for it even more.

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With 60 seconds left to play in Game 6 on Sunday, the Florida Panthers were up 1-0, and it appeared there would be a Game 7 against the New York Islanders. Then John Tavares happened.

The New York captain put his team on his back, tying up the game with 53 seconds to go, and winning it - and the series - in double overtime. After the game, 44-year-old Jaromir Jagr admitted he thought it was going to be a happy flight back home.

"It was close. I thought we got it, we were so close to score on the empty net," Jagr said, according to the Sun Sentinel's Harvey Fialkov. "Maybe this is what this team needs to move higher next year. Of course, I thought we had it in the bag, it's going to be Game 7 and it just (didn't happen).

"It's frustrating. You have a choice, fight or score or give up. I fight til the end. Most of the games we had a lead, we just couldn't close it. You can learn from that."

Jagr's maintained throughout the season that he isn't done playing hockey, and that he'll let us know when he is, and he continued in that vein Sunday.

"If I come back I know I have to be ready, have to practice differently, you always could learn. I want to play that's for sure, I'm going to be more ready."

In Jagr's world, there are no defeats. Only lessons. We could all learn a thing or two from the veteran.

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It's going to be a long summer for the Florida Panthers.

A record season for the club ended in dramatic fashion Sunday, as the Panthers were eliminated by the New York Islanders in Game 6 of their first-round series, John Tavares scoring the series winner in double overtime.

It was Tavares' second goal of the night. His first tied up the game at 1-1 with only 53 seconds to go in the third period - the Panthers were that close to forcing a Game 7. And according to head coach Gerard Gallant, the game should have ended 1-0 Panthers, or 2-0 Panthers, because Florida should have gone on the power play as the clock wound down.

Panthers forward Vincent Trocheck was tripped in the moments before Tavares tied up the game, sending it to overtime. And there was no call.

"Yes," Gallant admitted after the game when asked if a penalty should have been called on the play, according to Sportsnet's Thomas Drance. "But what can you do?"

Not much, clearly.

"Obviously, you know, if they thought they would have scored on the other end they would have called it," Gallant added, according to the Miami Herald's George Richards. "It's a tough call, it's a fast game. It wasn't much but the game would have been over. It's tough to swallow."

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