Capitals stave off elimination, force Game 6 against Penguins
Backstrom and Ovechkin both score as Washington rallies to beat Pittsburgh and spoil Crosby’s return
WASHINGTON — It was quiet in the Washington Capitals’ locker room during the second intermission as they stared down the prospect of the end of their season and last best chance at a Stanley Cup potentially being 20 minutes away.
A few minutes into the third period, the players made their home rink very, very loud.
Nicklas Backstrom changed the course of the game with the tying goal and Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin scored 27 seconds apart as the Capitals came back to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 in Game 5 on Saturday night to avoid elimination.
As Sidney Crosby gave the Penguins a boost with a return from his latest concussion, Braden Holtby had his strongest performance of the playoffs — stopping 20 shots to help force a Game 6 back in Pittsburgh on Monday night.
“After second: No panic, nobody talk a lot because everybody concentrate and that’s what we need,” Ovechkin said. “You see how we respond.”
On the brink of elimination and trailing a Pittsburgh team that went 37-1-1 in the regular season and 6-0 in the playoffs when up after two periods, the Presidents’ Trophywinning Capitals finally responded like the Cup contenders everyone thought they should be.
With the slogan “Own the big moments” a reminder of how they didn’t do so a year ago in their second-round loss to the Penguins, Washington’s best players came to play when the moment was its biggest.
“That’s just what we need in these tight games,” said Andre Burakovsky, who scored the tying goal in the first period and had another good game after replacing Ovechkin as the top-line left winger. “We need our best players to step up and do the hard work and be the difference makers. I think that’s what they were tonight.”
In the process, the Capitals finally solved Pittsburgh goaltender MarcAndre Fleury, who allowed four goals on 32 shots after putting up a .937 save percentage in the first four games of the series. The three third-period goals came on five shots over a span of 5:02, including Kuznetsov’s goal from a supersharp angle.
“They finish first in the league, there’s a reason for it,” Fleury said. “The last (win is) always the hardest to get. Disappointing but move on.”