Caps eliminate Sens

NHL teams

It was a second shut-out in a row for Washington's hero, goalie Olaf Kolzig, who extended his scoreless run to 149:60.

"It's been a while for this team," Washington defenseman Brendan Witt said. "We still have a long road ahead of us. If we didn't have a hot goaltender, we'd be golfing right now."

The Conference finals figure to be a real goaltending duel of the ages, the Caps' opponent will be the Buffalo Sabres who will bring goalie-god Dominik Hasek to the arena.

"Hasek's the best goaltender in the NHL," Washington coach Ron Wilson said. "I think our goalie is playing just as good. I'm just glad it's not a one-game elimination here, like it was in Nagano. I get to at least face him four times. Maybe if we beat him once, I'd be vindicated."

Washington was outshot 168-90 in the series and sometimes it seemed that Caps players were almost afraid to take a shot.

"We outchanced them but we just didn't capitalize," Ottawa coach Jacques Martin said. "It's probably a reflection of our season. We are a young team going in the right direction."