If you were within an earshot of the nation's capital, you might have heard the widespread and rather loud sigh of relief.

The Washington Capitals have scored a goal on Michal Neuvirth. It was only their second  against the Philadelphia Flyers netminder and former teammate after he took over the Flyers' crease in Game 3. The goal, which came off the stick of Nicklas Backstrom, ended a scoring drought or shutout streak, depending on your rooting interest, of 106:21.

After Neuvirth shut out the Caps with a 44-save effort in Game 5 and made several big saves during a 12-save first period in the first period of Game 6, it was beginning to feel like Washington might never figure out the Flyers goalie.

It was going to take something special to beat the former Capital, and that's just what Washington got when their stars combined for the perfect play to break open the scoring in Game 6.

The play began with a long pass from John Carlson to Alex Ovechkin. The Capitals captain fought off a check as Radko Gudas stepped up on him, side-stepped another swiping Flyers stick and found Marcus Johansson with a quick pass. That left poor Nick Schultz isolated against a couple of highly-skilled Swedes.

Johansson wasted little time in dishing the puck off to a wide-open Backstrom on the right side. Neuvirth was toast. Backstrom snapped off a quick shot and fit the puck just under the crossbar for the emphatic conclusion to the Capitals' dry spell.

How big was that for the Capitals, though? Allow Ovechkin's celebration to explain:

The excitement of a puck finally hitting the back of the Flyers net for the Capitals seemed to take over for the captain there.

Even though it is over, it’s hard not to marvel at Neuvirth’s accomplishment. He made 72 saves between Capitals goals. Oddly enough, NBC play-by-play man Kenny Albert had just mentioned that stat seconds before Neuvirth was beaten by the Backstrom snipe.

Good thing jinxes aren't real, otherwise Kenny might not be allowed back in Philly after that one.

Regardless of the result of this game or series, what Neuvirth has managed to do with his performance so far has been nothing short of remarkable.

Nobody was stopping Nicklas Backstrom on this goal, not even Michal Neuvirth. (NBC)
Nobody was stopping Nicklas Backstrom on this goal, not even Michal Neuvirth. (NBC)