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NHL Playoffs: Penguins vs. Capitals Game 1 recap, full highlights

By Dave Stevenson

Apr 28, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray (30) makes a save on Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) in the third period in game one of the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 28, 2016; Washington, DC, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray (30) makes a save on Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) in the third period in game one of the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Washington Capitals defended home ice by beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime in Game 1 to take a 1-0 series lead.

92. Final. 4. 19. 3

Game 1 lived up to the very lofty expectations of hockey fans everywhere as the Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime. It was an extremely exciting game and the Caps and Penguins both have a lot of work to do if they want to repeat that performance. Both teams should be proud of their effort and hopefully that carries over to Game 2 at the Verizon Center in Washington DC.

The Caps opened up the scoring with a goal by Andre Burakovsky in the first period. Pittsburgh answerned with two unanswered goals in the second period by Ben Lovejoy and Evgeni Malkin. That’s when Caps forward T.J. Oshie took over the game, scoring the next two goals for the Capitals. Nick Bonino’s game-tying goal sent the game into overtime where Oshie completed a playoff hat trick.

Three stars

Oshie is the obvious choice for first star of the game. He’s been outstanding in the playoffs for the Caps on both ends of the ice. Oshie was especially dominant on offense Thursday night with his first career playoff hat trick. It seems that perhaps the narrative that Oshie can’t score in the playoffs is a false one. Either that, or Oshie just had enough of hearing about it and decided to do something to change it.

Braden Holtby of the Capitals saved 42 of the 45 shots on goal that he saw. He kept the Caps in the game and gave them a win that they might not have deserved to have. Holtby was especially clutch in the final 40 minutes and in overtime as without him, the Capitals would definitely not have won the game.

Bonino gets the third star for getting the game tying goal and for playing an excellent game despite the loss. He was arguably the Penguins’ best player on the ice.

Highlights

Next Game

The next game is on Saturday at the Verizon Center at 8:00 PM EST.

For more coverage of the NHL Playoffs, make sure to check out our NHL hub page.

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