Game Recap from NHL.com
WASHINGTON -- For T.J. Oshie, scoring a hat trick in overtime in a Stanley Cup Playoff game was something he'd only dreamed about as a young boy.
Oshie turned that dream into reality when he completed a hat trick 9:33 into overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 4-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Verizon Center on Thursday.
"I haven't won too many championships in my lifetime," Oshie said. "Maybe through the youth years. That's kind of the stuff you dream about when you're a kid playing in the backyard by yourself is scoring the OT winner and getting a hat trick. It was awesome."
The Capitals host Game 2 in the best-of-7 series on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports)
Oshie's wraparound goal was upheld after a four-minute video review. He skated left to right across the offensive zone, circled the net and forced the puck barely across the goal line under goalie Matt Murray's right pad.
"It was kind of a foot race," Oshie said. "I figured I wasn't going to be able to get all the way to the net and deke or at least sell a fake. I thought I saw something up top glove there. I didn't think it got really too high. I think it maybe caught him off-guard."
Andre Burakovsky had Washington's other goal, and Braden Holtby made 42 saves.
Ben Lovejoy, Evgeni Malkin and Nick Boninoscored, and Murray finished with 31 saves for Pittsburgh.
"I thought we did a pretty good job, generated some pretty good chances," captain Sidney Crosby said. "Had a bit of a slow start, but once we settled in, I thought we had some good looks and it was a fast-paced game back and forth, and typical of a game this time of year."
Bonino tied the game 3-3 at 8:42 of the third period. Carl Hagelin sent a pass from behind the net to Bonino in the right circle for his first goal of the postseason.
Murray stopped Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin on a breakaway with 3:26 left in the third.
Burakovsky scored at 10:13 of the first period to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead. A turnover in the Pittsburgh zone led to a 3-on-2 with John Carlson driving the net flanked by Jason Chimera and Burakovsky. Murray stopped Chimera's shot, but Burakovsky scored on the rebound for his first point in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The assist gave Carlson seven points in seven games.
Lovejoy scored at 10:40 of the second period to tie it 1-1. On an odd-man rush, Bonino stickhandled through Capitals defensemen Nate Schmidt and Dmitry Orlov, who got tangled up with each other, and put a shot on net. Lovejoy tipped in the rebound for his first goal of the playoffs.
Malkin scored 57 seconds later to give the Penguins a 2-1 lead. He came off the bench, picked up a pass from Chris Kunitz and sent a backhand top shelf on Holtby. The goal was his third of the playoffs and eighth point in five games.
"This game could have went either way," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "It was an even game. Our guys played hard. I thought we carried stretches of momentum for long periods of time. It didn't go our way. We'll learn from it, put it behind us and try to get Game 2."
Oshie tied it 2-2 at 12:10 with a breakaway goal. He picked up a turnover by Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta in the neutral zone, skated down the wing with speed, and beat Murray glove side for his second goal of the playoffs.
Oshie scored his second goal of the game to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead at 3:23 of the second period. Ovechkin's shot was blocked but he got the puck and passed to Oshie, whose shot trickled through Murray's pads.
"He seems to be up every single game. I've never seen him take a night off," Holtby said of Oshie. "His work ethic is through the roof and compete level is amazing. That shows in these games that he's going to be one of those guys that's really key for us."
Washington defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in six games in the first round. Pittsburgh eliminated the New York Rangers in five games.
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