Connolly’s first playoff goal a key one for Caps

Brett Connolly finally has his first career NHL playoff goal.

This time, no video replay was needed to make that conclusive.

Connolly took a breakaway pass from Washington Capitals teammate Lars Eller and let go a wrist shot that went in off the glove of Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray with 2:08 gone in the second period Sunday afternoon in Washington. That gave the Capitals a 3-0 lead and some needed breathing room to hold off the defending Stanley Cup champions 4-1 to tie the best-of-seven second-round series 1-1.

“It’s a great feeling, I think I’ve been playing pretty well this year,” Connolly told Hockey Night in Canada host Christine Simpson after the game. “Last year I didn’t get a lot (of icetime) and you’ve just got to keep working. We’ve got a lot of guys chipping in. We’ve got a good team here and when you get to the playoffs anything can happen.”

After seeing his shot cross the line behind Murray, Connolly skated behind the net with his stick raised to salute the crowd before leading the fly-by glove-taps with his teammates on the bench, the second time this postseason he’s gotten into celly mode. His first, in Game 3 of the first-round series against the Columbus Blue Jackets April 17 in Columbus, was rather shortlived.

The former Prince George Cougars captain thought he had his first playoff goal in that game when he batted a loose puck into the net eight minutes into the second period for what appeared to be a 2-0 Washington lead. But the Blue Jackets ordered the play reviewed and it was determined Connolly went offside just before the scoring play developed and his goal was nullified.

But there was a happy ending that night for the Caps.

Connolly’s quick shot from the slot left a big rebound for Eller and his shot went off Blue Jackets defenceman Zach Werenski then hit Eller’s skate before it went into the net for the winner in double overtime. After trailing 2-0 in the series the Caps won four straight to eliminate Columbus in six games.

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Pittsburgh took the early series lead in Round 2, beating the Capitals 3-2 Thursday in Washington.

“I think we learned from Game 1,” said Connolly. “I thought we played really well in Game 1 but they got some timely goals. They’re an experienced team and they know how to win. You just have to play the full 60. They got some bounces and we just had to make sure that didn’t happen again.”

Born in Campbell River, Connolly grew up in Prince George and played three seasons with the Cougars from 2008-11. Drafted sixth overall by the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2010, he played parts of four seasons with the Bolts and was traded to Boston at the deadline in 2015. After one full season with the Bruins he signed as a free agent with Washington in 2016. Coming off a 15-goal, 27-point season in 2017-18, the 25-year-old winger had been held without a goal in his 14 previous NHL playoff games.

The Caps-Penguins series resumes with Game 3 tonight in Pittsburgh.