KANATA, Ontario (AP) -- The Capitals have the one defense department in Washington that is earning every penny in its budget.
Defensemen Sergei Gonchar and Mark Tinordi scored both goals and goaltender Olaf Kolzig stopped 36 shots to lead the Capitals to a 2-0 victory over Ottawa in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series Wednesday night.
Washington needed that defensive performance because the Capitals only managed 11 shots on net.
A short-handed goal by Gonchar was all the Capitals needed to gain a 3-1 lead and put the Senators on the brink of elimination in the Stanley Cup playoffs. That, and the big pads and lightning-quick glove of Kolzig.
"He's why we're here," said backup goalie Bill Ranford, who should know. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the 1990 playoffs, backstopping Edmonton to the Stanley Cup.
It would have been 1-0 if not for Tinordi's empty-net goal with five seconds left.
This series has become a sort of beat-the-goalie contest for the Senators. They shoot and they shoot and they shoot, and Kolzig makes save after save after save.
He's stopped 132 of the 139 shots the Senators have whistled his way, and he shows no signs of slowing down.
"For me it's the same thing night in and night out, stop the puck and give the guys a chance to win," said Kolzig, who gave up four goals in Monday's 4-3 loss. "That's the way it's been the whole playoffs. The guys realize the more shots I get the better I play."
It was Kolzig's second shutout of the playoffs and Ottawa's first home loss after four victories. It also put the Senators in dire straits.
The Capitals can advance to the Eastern Conference final for only the second time in the team's 24-year history with a victory in Game 5 Friday night at home.
The Capitals don't expect any overconfidence to creep in because they know they've been outplayed here.
"It's huge," Kolzig said. "Obviously, the ultimate would have been to take both games out of here and sweep, but we knew that was going to be tough. The next-best thing is to get a split, and that's what we did.
"Now we've got too many veterans in this room to get overconfident. We've got to get Friday out of the way. We have to bury the chance and not give them any hope. We know it's going to be a tough game. We know what to expect."
More shots. Washington has been outshot 378 to 228 in 10 games, and the Senators weren't too dismayed despite their predicament.
"This team has performed when their backs have been against the wall," captain Randy Cunneyworth said. "There's no reason why we can't climb back up. We dug the hole. We can climb back out if we stick together."
The way to beat the Senators is to stop their scoring stars, Alexei Yashin and Daniel Alfredsson, who have scored 12 of Ottawa's 20 goals in the postseason.
And that's what the Capitals did, limiting Alfredsson to just two good opportunities and stifling Yashin, who scored the game-winner in Game 3 Monday night, for the most part.
Still, with 36 shots, the Senators had plenty of chances.
"We did what we could. It just wasn't enough," goaltender Damian Rhodes said. "We're not going to cry over spilt milk. We've put in our best efforts, and most nights that's going to win games."
#6 BUFFALO SABERS vs #7 MONTREAL CANADIENS
MONTREAL (AP) -- Seven months ago, the Buffalo Sabres were in shambles. They had a new coach and general manager. They were losing regularly. The star goaltender was getting booed at home.
After sweeping the Montreal Canadiens with a 3-1 victory on Thursday night, the Sabres found themselves in the conference finals for the first time since 1980 with no signs they will lose any time soon.
"We seemed to grow with adversity," Buffalo forward Matthew Barnaby said as he puffed a cigar. "I don't think anybody believed in this team except for the guys in this room. We always believed in each other."
Buffalo will meet the winner of the Washington-Ottawa series in the conference finals starting next week.
The Sabres are one series victory away from their first appearance in the Stanley Cup in 23 years thanks largely to the play of star goaltender Dominik Hasek and the gritty Barnaby.
It was Barnaby who threatened to take a cheap shot at Hasek during training camp for remarks made in the offseason about former coach Ted Nolan. Hasek was ridiculed by Sabres fans for a month.
But against the Canadiens, it was Barnaby who had a hat trick in Game 2 and Barnaby who scored the crucial first goal on Thursday when he beat Andy Moog in the opening period. It was Hasek who stopped 37 shots in Game 4 and held the Sabres intact throughout the series.
"Sometimes we live by the way we play," Hasek said. "But the thing is we always find a way to win. They worked hard, the Montreal Canadiens, but they had no chance."
Not surprisingly, Hasek was unbeatable when Buffalo needed him most. Since the second period from Game 3, Hasek allowed one goal on 65 shots over a span of 101 minutes, 24 seconds.
Hasek, who has been nominated as the league's top goalie and most valuable player and carried the Czech Republic to the Olympic gold medal, has given the Sabres every reason to believe he can take them to the Stanley Cup.
"Whether (the next opponent) is Ottawa or Washington, it's not going to be easy," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "In the end, we know we have the trump card."
Donald Audette joined Barnaby as Buffalo's leading scorer in the playoffs with 10 points after he scored one goal and set up another in the series clincher. Buffalo has won its last seven playoff games.
Miroslav Satan also scored for the Sabres. Martin Rucinsky scored for the Canadiens to make it 3-1 in the second period, but it was much too late.
Buffalo lost in six games to the New York Islanders in the 1980 conference final. The Sabres have made only one appearance in the Stanley Cup finals, losing to Philadelphia in six games in 1975.
"A lot of guys are really excited," Buffalo forward Brian Holzinger said. "We got a sweep against a team wit a lot of tradition. Now we have a few days off."
The Canadiens won three overtime games and swept the Sabres in 1993 en route to their 24th and last Stanley Cup. This time, it was Buffalo's turn to beat Montreal in four straight.
It marked the third time in Canadiens' history that they were swept. It was the first time the deciding game was lost on their home ice.
Although the record books will show the Sabres won in four games, this series was hardly easy. Buffalo was outplayed in Game 1 and much of Game 3 but won both games in overtime largely because of Hasek.
"I hope every one of them tucks in every night and says thank you (for Hasek)," Canadiens forward Mark Recchi said. "He's incredible. The more shots he faces, the better he gets."
Montreal looked for dozens of ways to win but found none in the end. Going into Game 4, the Canadiens thought they deserved much better fate after outplaying the Sabres in Game 1 and much of Game 3 only to come away with overtime losses.
"Obviously, we're disappointed," Canadiens forward Shayne Corson said. "We can walk out of here with our heads high. We never quit."
The final game was decided early after Barnaby scored in the first five minutes and Audette and Satan scored 1:50 apart in the second period to give Buffalo the 3-0 lead.
Audette's goal came at 8:41 when he fought off a check from Scott Thornton and directed defenseman Bob Boughner's pass past Moog. Audette then found Satan with a pass from behind the net to get the Sabres rolling.
Barnaby scored 4:53 into the first period off a rebound with Buffalo on the power play. Barnaby, who had five goals in 72 games during the regular season, has five goals in nine playoff games this year.
Barnaby had asked general manager Darcy Regier to be traded just before the deadline, but the Sabres never made a deal. As it turned out, he never really wanted to go anywhere.
"Thank you Darcy, thank you ownership," Barnaby said. "I don't know what I would have done if they had traded me and the guys are doing what they're doing now. It would have been tough to swallow. Fortunately for everyone, it wasn't done."
