In Washington, DC, the Capitals needed overtime to edge out the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-3, in Game 2 of their opening round series.
Brooks Orpik struck at 1:48 of the extra session to finally end the resistance of the pesky Canes who have hung tight in each game so so far.
“Kind of had them pinned in there,” Orpik said of the game-winner. “[The] winger on my side didn’t have [his] stick. I saw [Kuznetsov] had full possession, dove in there and he made a perfect pass.”
Nicklas Backstrom stayed in the first round with his third goal of the series, and T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson added goals in regulation.
“The playoffs start, you try to go one shift at a time, one period at a time,” Oshie said. “But maybe somewhere in the back of your mind you’re hoping you can get away from the two home games with a 2-0 (lead). We were able to do that. It feels good.”
Braden Holtby made 25 saves to get the win.
Jordan Staal, Lucas Wallmark and Sebastian Aho scored for the Canes who have not seemed to be intimidated by the Caps but don;t have the horses to keep pace yet.
“[Aho] has one goal. Our top guys are not on the score sheet. Theirs are,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said. “I feel pretty good that if we get those guys going, which they have all year, it’ll give us a better chance to win, that’s for sure.”
The series resumes Monday night in Raleigh for Game 3.
[WATCH: All Hurricanes vs. Capitals highlights]
Petr Mrazek made 29 saves in the loss.
“It’s really hard when you spot teams leads like that, like we have in the last two games,” Hurricanes captain Justin Williams said. “We battled back. It’s not enough.”
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