Fresh off his first playoff appearance and one of the best regular seasons in more than a decade, Alex Ovechkin is named one of three finalists for league MVP.

Alex Ovechkin joins the Russian squad in advance of the world hockey championship and is awaiting insurance before he will be allowed to practice or play.

Veteran goaltender Olie Kolzig is noticeable absent from a mandatory meeting the morning after he cleaned out his locker stall following the Capitals’ Game 7 loss.

The game had all the hallmarks of Washington Capitals playoff hockey: The requisite controversial penalty calls, an opposition goal that could have been overturned, far too many wasted scoring opportunities and too much drama for some to take.

Although the finality crushed the more than 18,000 on hand instantly, Game 7 was not a night to see how far the Capitals could go, but to see how far they have already come.

Only 20 teams in NHL history have rallied from such a deficit to win a seven-game playoff series. Last night, the Washington Capitals’ bid to become No. 21 came up just short.

Twenty years after Dale Hunter thrust Washington past the Flyers in Game 7, a young Russian dynamo has finally taken his place as the Capitals’ go-to scorer in the clutch.

The Capitals neophyte Russians and Swedes proved to be just fine against the big, bad Flyers, disproving the Neandertahl stereotype that European players are too soft for the playoffs.

The Capitals fight back from a two-goal hole to tie the game and Alex Ovechkin adds two goals to beat the Flyers, 4-2, and force a Game 7 in Washington.

If Alex Ovechkin’s inspired performance Saturday was any indication, he has begun to adapt to the postseason’s tight-checking style, but the question entering Game 6 is whether it has come too late.