The magnificent Semen Varlamov stopped 34 shots and Tomas Fleischmann scored the winner as the Washington Capitals edged the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in Game One of their Eastern Conference semi-final series on Saturday.

The much publicized rendezvous between top NHL stars Alexander Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby ended up as a draw as both players contributed a goal for their clubs.

Crosby nearly had a second, but Varlamov made what is being called “the save of the play-offs" to stop his attempt on the net.

Two other Pittsburg stars Evgeny Malkin and Sergey Gonchar were confined just to an assist each, although they’ll have a chance to add their two cents in the Penguin-Capital showdown as soon as on Tuesday, when the second game of the series will be held, again in Washington.