Schedule and 2001 Results
Regular Season Records: Washington 41-27-10-4=96pts, Pittsburgh 42-28-9-3=96pts
Game 1 on Thursday, 12 April: Pittsburgh loses at Washington, 1-0
Game 2 on Saturday, 14 April: Pittsburgh wins at Washington, 2-1
Game 3 on Monday, 16 April: Washington loses at Pittsburgh, 3-0
Game 4 on Wednesday, 18 April: Washington wins at Pittsburgh in OT, 4-3
Game 5 on Saturday, 21 April: Pittsburgh wins at Washington, 2-1
Game 6 on Monday, 23 April: Washington loses at Pittsburgh in OT, 4-3

OVERALL SUBSTANCE: Pittsburgh defeats Washington LWWLWW:
The six-game LWWLWW victory by Pittsburgh over Washington is the 7th in NHL Prelim round best-of-7 series, the 17th in NHL best-of-7 series (all rounds), and the 21st in NHL, NBA, or MLB best-of-7 series.

SERIES NOTES: Game 6: Pittsburgh defeats Washington 4-goals-3 in overtime to win series 825 by a 4-games-2 margin; Pittsburgh now owns a 9-3 series record in best-of-7 NHL Prelim-round series (4-1 when Game 1 is on the road), while Washington now owns a 5-8 series record in best-of-7 NHL Prelim-round series (2-6 when Game 1 is at home); in Prelim-round Game 6 action in best-of-7 series, Pittsburgh improves its record to 6-2 (3-0 at home), while Washington falls to 5-7 (2-5 on the road); Washington's 12 games played and 7 games lost in Game 6 of Prelim-round series are NHL highs . . . Game 5: Pittsburgh wins in Washington 2-goals-1 to take a 3-games-2 lead in best-of-7 series 825; Pittsburgh is now 7-4 in NHL best-of-7 Prelim-round Game 5s, while Washington falls to 4-9 in such games (the 13 games played and the 9 losses are NHL highs for that category); Washington is now 2-6 at home in best-of-7 NHL Prelim-round Game 5s, and those six losses are also an NHL high for that category . . . Game 4: Washington defeats Pittsburgh in overtime 4-goals-3 to tie series 825 at 2-games-all; Washington is now 9-4 in NHL Prelim round Game 4s, and those nine wins in this situation constitute an NHL-high; Pittsburgh falls to 4-8 in best-of-7 Game 4 play; Washington as a franchise is now 6-1 at home in fourth games of best-of-7 playoff series . . . Game 3: Pittsburgh shuts out Washington 3-0 to take a 2-1 lead in games in this series; in best-of-7 Prelim round Game 3 action, Washington now has a 5-8 franchise record -- those 8 losses are an NHL high in that category; in best-of-7 Prelim round Game 3 road action, Washington now has a 3-5 franchise record -- those 5 losses are an NHL high in that category; Pittsburgh improves its Prelim round home Game 3 franchise record to 4-1, matching that of the Chicago Blackhawks . . . Game 2: Pittsburgh evens the series with its 2-1 win in Washington; in NHL best-of-7 series during 1939-2000, teams winning Game 1 by one goal and losing Game 2 by one goal (i.e., Washington) have a series record of 12-12 (3-6 in the Prelim round); in NHL Prelim round second games, Pittsburgh is now 9-3, while Washington falls to 4-9 . . . Game 1: With its 1-0 victory vs. Pittsburgh, Washington becomes the first NHL team to win Game 1 of a best-of-7 playoff series 1-0 since 1990, and the first time ever in an NHL Prelim round; 1-0 wins in first games of NHL best-of-7 playoff series had happened only six times previously -- and in each of those six cases, the Game 1 winner won the series . . . Pre-series: The year 2001 marks the fifteenth year of best-of-7 NHL Preliminary playoff round action, and the sixth best-of-7 NHL Preliminary round matchup between Washington and Pittsburgh (an NHL high); note that Washington and Pittsburgh tied with 96 regular season points each, and that Pittsburgh would win a tiebreaker with its one extra win (42 to 41), but that Washington wins home-ice advantage through its 2000-01 regular season division championship; in best-of-7 NHL playoff history from 1939 through 2000, when the team with home ice for Game 1 was tied in regular-season points with a playoff opponent (as is Washington's case regarding Pittsburgh), that team had a 6-4 series record vs. that opponent -- ironically, Washington had been in this very situation (tied in regular season points vs. playoff opponent; home ice for Game 1) vs. Pittsburgh's cross-state rival Philadelphia in the 1988 NHL Prelim round (series 504) -- after spotting the Flyers a 3-1 lead in games, Washington swept Games 5-7 to win the series.