NHL Playoffs | Flyers defeat Capitals in OT

WASHINGTON — Philadelphia Flyers coach John Stevens was so excited about Game 7 against superstar Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals that he skipped the team bus and took a 40-minute walk from the hotel to the rink.

Stevens' players were so calm despite seeing a 3-1 Eastern Conference first-round series lead evaporate that about a half-dozen gathered for their traditional pregame soccer-ball juggling outside their locker room, near the signs reading, "No ball playing of any kind in this area."

Both approaches paid off, and Philadelphia finally figured out how to put away Washington. Joffrey Lupul netted a rebound during a power play 6:06 into overtime, Martin Biron made 39 saves and the Flyers avoided a monumental collapse by beating Washington 3-2 Tuesday night in Game 7 of the best-of-seven series.

"A lot of people thought we were dead. A lot of people," said Flyers forward Danny Briere, whose assist on the winning goal gave him a series-high 11 points. "And probably their side, too, thought, 'We have the momentum. These guys are down. They're not going to get back up.' That was a little bit of an advantage. We got back up from a lot of tough situations this year. We did it again tonight."

And now, a year removed from the league's fewest points, a year removed from the worst record in franchise history, the Flyers won a playoff series for the first time since 2004.

They will face the top-seeded Montreal Canadiens in the best-of-seven conference semifinals.

"If you look at our season, it's been ups and downs," said defenseman Kimmo Timonen, who shadowed Ovechkin all night and helped set up Lupul's goal. "We faced a lot of difficulties during the season and this was one of them."

Sharks advance

SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jeremy Roenick had two goals and two assists, including the tying and go-ahead scores midway through the San Jose Sharks' four-goal second period, in a 5-3 victory over the Calgary Flames in Game 7 of their West first-round playoff series.

Roenick, a healthy scratch in Game 6, said, "To contribute like that, I don't want to say it's a surprise, but it's just so great."

Roenick tied the franchise record for points in a playoff game.

"I might be 38 years old, but now I feel like I'm 19," he said. "You don't like to have the career that I've had and sit out a potential clinching [Game 6]. It was nice that I could come back and contribute in this way."

Evgeni Nabokov made 19 saves for second-seeded San Jose in front of a deafening crowd at the first home Game 7 in Shark Tank history.

After falling behind 2-1 early in the second period, San Jose's formidable talent finally overwhelmed the Flames with four goals in less than nine minutes, chasing goalie Miikka Kiprusoff.

The Sharks will face Pacific Division rival Dallas in a West semifinal series.

Joe Thornton, Joe Pavelski and rookie Devin Setoguchi also scored for the Sharks, who took 41 shots.

Owen Nolan, captain Jarome Iginla and Wayne Primeau scored for the seventh-seeded Flames.

Note

• Other semifinal matchups are Pittsburgh versus the New York Rangers in the East and Detroit versus Colorado in the West.