Nicklas Backstrom may live in Alex Ovechkin’s shadow but the Verizon Center spot light was shining bright on him early in the third period.
After taking a slick pass from Andre Burakovsky, the Caps Swede hit the far side of the net, tying Game Five at two goals a piece.
Capitals forward Tom Wilson is throwing his body around during Game Five. Through two periods of play, Wilson has four hits and all of them were teeth-rattlers.
From the third line, Andre Burakovsky has arguably been the Caps best forward in the playoffs, leading the team in shot-attempts percentage (66.02%). Yet he hasn’t been rewarded with a goal during the entire 2017 postseason.
That all changed Saturday night at Verizon Center. Burakovsky, who was promoted earlier in the week to the first line by Barry Trotz, scored late in the first period to tie the game.
It was a HUGE goal.
There are missed calls and then there’s this.
10:58 into the first period, Braden Holtby skated behind the net to stop a Penguins dump in. After leaving the puck for Kevin Shattenkirk, Holtby skated back to the crease. He was tripped by Patric Hornqvist. Blantantly.
Let me say this first: NHL officials don’t have the benefit of instant replay on penalties, and hockey is a fast game. But Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena, the officiating crew blew a crucial third period call that cost the Caps an opportunity to tie the game.
With one minute and fifty-two seconds remaining, Capitals forward TJ Oshie was whistled for a high stick on Nick Bonino.
Except it wasn’t a high stick.
Down two goals in period two of Game Four, stuff looked dire for your Washington Capitals.
Then the Caps briefly tied it up. Bring it, Kuzy. Show em, Schmidt.
The Capitals were at one point down 2-0 to the Penguins after Dmitry Orlov scored on his own net.
By Peter Hassett 2 years ago
Well, this is cold-blooded.
During the first period of Game Four, CBC’s Christine Simpson reported that Marc-Andre Fleury made a subtle alteration to the backplate of his mask. Fleury put a piece of masking tape over Niskanen’s name, giving shade to his former teammate for injuring Sidney Crosby.
Monday night before the Caps entered overtime, I had one friend tell me they were vomiting. Another had to turn the game off because their nerves were getting the best of them.
“I can’t watch overtime,” my friend said to me in a text. “I’m too heartbroken already.”
After surrendering a two-goal lead late in the third period, the Caps won their first game of their second-round series against Pittsburgh, tallying the decisive goal 3:13 into overtime. Kevin Shattenkirk’s seeing-eye wrist shot found the back of the net.
While I screamed an angry expletive at my TV (because my favorite team seemingly does not know how to win games without conjuring extreme emotional distress), the Capitals were actually happy about the result.
Here are the fun GIFs to prove it.
In February, the Capitals landed Kevin Shattenkirk, the most talented player available, at the trade deadline.
After struggling for most of the playoffs, Shattenkirk paid dividends in Game Three, scoring the decisive — and what seemed like an improbable goal — 3:13 into overtime.
The Pens now lead the second-round series 2-1.
