The Washington Capitals turned a potentially disastrous finish to Game 3 into something positive with a 3-2 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. They’re now firmly in the Eastern Conference Semifinals series after Kevin Shattenkirk scored the game-winner to make up for blowing a 2-0 lead minutes earlier.
Capitals beat Penguins in overtime after blowing 2-goal Game 3 lead in regulation
Washington should’ve won earlier, but responded in overtime after blowing the lead in regulation.
Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Even without Sidney Crosby, who left earlier in the game due to injury, the Penguins are the team nobody can put away. They delivered that message to the Capitals via a pair of last-minute goals in that forced overtime in backbreaking fashion after Pittsburgh fell behind, 2-0, through the first 58 minutes of action.
Evgeni Malkin has long been Crosby’s starring partner, and naturally he stepped into the limelight with his teammate out in the third period. Malkin rifled an absolute beauty of a one-timer to beat Braden Holtby with 1:53 remaining in regulation, cutting the Capitals’ lead in half.
Less than a minute later, the Penguins had their goalie pulled again when Justin Schultz fired a shot from the blue line that deflected off a defender’s stick and bounced high to beat Holtby. It was a brutal bounce for the Capitals, who were just 65 seconds away from their first win in the series.
The Capitals will have a big opportunity at a comeback in this series, especially if Crosby is sidelined going forward. Either way, Washington just injected life back into its Stanley Cup hopes minutes after they appeared on the brink in Pittsburgh. Oh, playoff hockey, how you swing our emotions.
See More:
