Washington Capitals win overtime thriller to take a 3-2 series lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets
The Washington Capitals defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-3 to take a 3-2 series lead in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Caps would need overtime in order to pull off the victory. Nickolas Backstrom tipped a Dmitri Orlov shot at the 11:53 mark of the first overtime period to score the game winning goal for the Caps.
Despite early goal-tending mishaps, both goaltenders looked phenomenal. Braden Holtby looked fantastic once again stopped 39 of the 42 shots sent his way. Holtbys counterpart, Sergei Bobrovsky, made many spectacular saves in the overtime period, but his 25 saves were not enough to secure the victory.
Backstrom scored his first goal of the night in the first period and was named the first star of the game. Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie also scored in the victory. The game two hero, Matt Calvert, scored two goals for the Blue Jackets.
The game was filled with penalties from both teams. The Blue Jackets went 0 for 5 on the power play, while the Caps went 1 for 4 on the power play. The Caps have scored a power play goal in each of the five games thus far in the series.
The Caps will look to close out the series Monday night in Columbus. The scheduled time for puck drop is to be determined.
