The Washington Capitals completed a frantic rally with a goal from e Lars Eller midway through extra time for a 5-4 win over the San Jose Sharks on Sunday afternoon.
The OT goal capped a three-goal rally that included two strikes in the final minute of regulation.
Jakub Vrana *his second of the game) and T.J. Oshie rallied the Caps from a 2-4 deficit with goals 32 seconds apart in the final minute.
“When you make that long stretch pass, you can usually catch two players, especially on the changes,” Eller said. “We did exactly that. Two-on-one to [Carlson] and once he made that pass to me, I saw the goalie really slide over to cover the short side, so I just tried to go somewhere off side where it was open.”
Logan Couture had potted what seemed to be the sealer with an empty net goal ahead of the rally.
“Of course, all that’s forgotten if you score in overtime,” Sharks coach Bob Boughner said. “We had a post, 2-on-1 and a breakaway. So that’s the way the game goes.”
Braden Holtby made 25 saves for the win.
“We had everyone tugging the rope and when you have that, it’s fun and sometimes you get wins where maybe you shouldn’t win or you are out of it,” Oshie said. “But when everyone is working and everyone is contributing, you can find ways to win.”
Evander Kane had a hat trick in the middle frame for the Sharks.
“We were the better team, I thought, for most of the game,” Kane said. “We, obviously, weren’t able to close it out. That’s the bottom line.”
Nic Dowd also scored for the Caps.
[WATCH: All Sharks vs. Capitals highlights]
Martin Jones made 24 saves in the loss.
“Third period we didn’t really allow a lot 5-on-5,” Boughner said. “Defensively, we were pretty tight. You can take a million great things out of this game for us, but that’s why they’re leading the League, that’s why they have the most points, because they’re finding ways to win games.”
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