T.J. Oshie finishes hat trick in OT, gives Capitals Game 1 win
T.J. Oshie completed his hat trick to help give the Washington Capitals a 4-3 victory in Game 1 of their divisional semifinal against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
With the score tied 3-3 in overtime, Oshie, who tied the game in the second period and gave the Capitals the lead early in the third, took advantage of a turnover in the neutral zone and drove into the Penguins’ zone. Skating around Brian Dumoulin, he wrapped around the Pittsburgh net and stuffed the puck under the pad of goaltender Matt Murray.
As hats rained down to the Verizon Center ice, officials reviewed the goal to ensure the puck had completely crossed the line. It was very, very close.
In the end, video review confirmed the call on the ice as a good goal as the Capitals took Game 1.
The goal, according to the Elias Sports Bureau, saw Oshie join Nicklas Backstrom and Dino Ciccarelli as the only players in Capitals franchise history to finish off a playoff hat trick in overtime.
“I don’t know how the ref that called it a goal could have seen it from his angle,” said Murray. “I think I had it.”
“I didn’t see all the angles, but obviously they saw one that they felt it went in,” said Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan.
The opening game of the highly-anticipated series featured three lead changes. The Capitals opened the scoring at 10:13 of the first period after they forced a turnover and transitioned into a 3-on-1 break that ended with Andre Burakovsky putting home a rebound for his first of the playoffs.
The second period was a wild 20 minutes with the teams exchanging three goals in a span of 90 seconds. We would enter the final period of regulation tied 2-2.
Oshie’s second of the night snapped the tie 3:23 into the third period. After an Alex Ovechkin attempt was blocked, Oshie followed the play and took a pass from Ovechkin in stride and slipped it five-hole by Murray.
But the Penguins didn’t wait long to respond. Just 5:19 later, Nick Bonino recorded his first of the playoffs to give us a tie game.
The Capitals had a great chance to regain the lead a short while later, but Matt Niskanen’s blast hit the post and the rebound was whiffed by Jason Chimera before being cleared. Minutes later, Ovechkin had a mini-breakaway opportunity, but Murray made a great pad save.
Game 2 is Saturday night at 8 p.m. ET.
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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