WASHINGTON (AP) -The Washington Capitals replaced rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov with veteran Jose Theodore after falling behind 4-0 in the second period Wednesday night in their 6-2 Game 7 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Varlamov, who had anchored the Capitals in net for the previous 12 games, allowed goals on back-to-back shots in both the first and second periods. He faced only 18 shots before he was removed at 2:13 of the second.
“After the third goal I was thinking of pulling him because he looked really dejected,” Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Maybe I should have called a timeout at that point. But after the fourth goal, I think the wind completely came out of his sails emotionally.
be should have made it one game sooner.”
Theodore allowed two more goals as the Penguins won to advance to the Eastern Conference finals.
The 21-year-old Varlamov had become a playoff sensation, posting two shutouts and 2.28 goals against average before Wednesday. He had only played in six career regular-season games before replacing Theodore following a Game 1 loss to the New York Rangers in the first round.
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