On Saturday night, Nic Dowd scored at 4:41 into the overtime to give Washington a 3-2 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of their best-of-seven first round series.
Craig Anderson made 21 saves to get the win in relief of Vitek Vanecek, who left the game in the opening frame with an apparent injury.
“He’s a great goaltender,” Washington’s TJ Oshie said of Anderson. “He came in, he’s obviously got a lot of experience, and I think just not knowing that he was going to come in and then coming in, I think he was pretty calm back there for us, made a couple big saves for us, and kind of put the bench at ease. He did a fantastic job.”
Jake DeBrusk and Nick Ritchie scored for the Bruins.
“I think the biggest thing is, is he just was so calm and poised in what he did, and he moved so well,” Dowd said of Anderson. “I mean, it has to be really challenging for any player to come off the bench like that and be forced into that situation … there’s a lot of things that go into it.
“But I think our team has shown that we’ve done that all year, and we’ve been able to be successful, and I think guys have learned how to do it.”
Ritchie goal made the extra session necessary by tying the game at 2-2.
“Tough spot, I think, to put somebody in, but Andy’s answered the bell really his whole career, but he’s answered it for us when we needed him,” Washington head coach Peter Laviolette said. “He truly epitomizes the concept of working hard every day so that when you get your opportunity, you’re ready, and that’s exactly what he did.”
Brendon Dillon also scored for Washington to give them a 2-1 lead.
“Our offensive game was just not where it needed to be tonight,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “I thought our power play (1-for-4) wasn’t crisp. It bled into our 5-on-5. At the end of the day, not enough on the offensive side of things. We weren’t hard enough to play against.”
Tuukka Rask made 29 saves in the lo9ss.
“It was a one-timer from the blue line there,” Rask said of Dowd’s goal. “I think it was going over my head or at my head or something, then hit a stick, hit my chest and somehow ended up in the net. I think I probably bumped it into my own net.”
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