Flyers edge Capitals in overtime to advance

By Steve Ginsburg

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Philadelphia Flyers edged the Washington Capitals 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday to advance to the Eastern Conference semi-finals with an electrifying Game Seven victory.

Joffrey Lupul scored the game-winner six minutes into the extra period when he backhanded a rebound past Cristobal Huet after the Capitals netminder blocked a shot from the point by Kimmo Timonen.

"I tipped the puck originally, and it bounced down to the side of the net," said Lupul. "I just did what you're supposed to do -- I put it in the net."

Lupul's goal came with nine seconds left in the Flyers' power play after Washington defenseman Tom Poti was sent off for tripping.

"I was trying to find the puck but they found it before us," said Huet. "They got a good bounce. It was definitely frustrating, but we played hard and we battled.

"But we couldn't find the back of the net before them."

After taking the series 4-3, Philadelphia move on to face the top-seeded Montreal Canadiens in the last four of the Eastern Conference.

The Capitals, hoping to reach the conference semi-finals for the first time in a decade, trailed 3-1 in the series but won two successive games to force a deciding seventh game.

When Lupul scored, the 18,277 at the Verizon Center let out a collective groan, followed by silence.

"It's disappointing, it's devastating," Capitals center Brooks Laich told reporters. "I don't know what to say. We are all kind of stunned right now.

"We played a fantastic hockey game, one of the most exciting games all year. It's just unfortunate it didn't go our way."

Washington's Nicklas Backstrom and the Flyers' Scottie Upshall traded powerplay tallies in the opening period before a goal by Sami Kapanen gave Philadelphia a 2-1 lead midway through the second period.

The Capitals' Alex Ovechkin, the NHL's leading scorer, notched his fourth goal of the series at 15:29 of the second period on a long slapshot to even the score at 2-2.

Philadelphia had the NHL's worst record a year ago but rebounded this season with the sixth best record in the East.

"We've got the heart that we've always said we have," said Flyers coach John Stevens. "It's a group that is learning how to win."

(Editing by John O'Brien and Martin Petty)