Washington 4, Columbus 3
When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 21, 2018
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, District of Columbia
Referees:
Gord Dwyer, Chris Rooney
Linesmen:
Scott Cherrey, Kiel Murchison
Attendance:
18506
By Field Level Media
Nicklas Backstrom scored his second goal of the game 11:53 into overtime and gave the Washington Capitals a 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference first-round series on Saturday afternoon in Washington.
The Capitals now have won three straight after dropping the first two in the series. Washington has a 3-2 lead and can close it out in Game 6 on Monday at Columbus.
This was the fourth overtime game in the series.
Backstrom simply deflected a shot from Dmitry Orlov past Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky from between the circles.
Backstrom finished with two goals and one assist.
Both goalies made crucial saves in the third period and overtime. Washington goalie Braden Holtby had some spectacular stops and finished with 39 saves while Bobrovsky had 25.
Columbus scored the first goal for the first time in the series. Matt Calvert (two goals) got a short-handed goal with 9:52 left in the period.
The Capitals then got a bit of a lucky bounce -- or two -- to tie the game when Backstrom scored with 6:38 left in the first period.
Backstrom was behind the goal and trying to make a centering pass. However, the puck hit the skate of Columbus defenseman David Savard and bounced off the left shoulder of goalie Bobrovsky and into the net.
Evgeny Kuznetsov of Washington and Calvert then traded second-period goals 84 seconds apart. Kuznetsov scored as the Capitals caught the Blue Jackets changing while Calvert tied it even though he initially whiffed on his breakaway shot.
T.J. Oshie deflected a John Carlson shot in with 3:18 left in the second period for a 3-2 lead before the Blue Jackets tied it on their own deflected goal.
Oliver Bjorkstrand tipped an Ian Cole shot past Holtby 2:30 into the third period for a 3-3 tie. Columbus outshot Washington 16-1 in that period, but Holtby stood tall.
The Capitals said Friday that Andre Burakovsky will undergo minor surgery for an upper-body injury that is going to sideline him for the rest of this series but possibly not the remainder of the playoffs.
For Columbus, Alexander Wennberg returned to the lineup after missing the past three games with an upper-body injury of his own.
--Field Level Media
Top Game Performances
Columbus |
|
Washington |
Matt Calvert 2 |
Points |
Nicklas Backstrom 3 |
Matt Calvert 2 |
Goals |
Nicklas Backstrom 2 |
Ian Cole 1 |
Assists |
Dmitry Orlov 2 |
N/A |
Power Play Goals |
T.J. Oshie 1 |
Matt Calvert 1 |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Sergei Bobrovsky .862 |
Save Percentage |
Braden Holtby .929 |
Sergei Bobrovsky 25 |
Saves |
Braden Holtby 39 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Columbus
|
42 |
3 |
0-5 |
3-4 |
8 |
35 |
Washington
|
29 |
4 |
1-4 |
5-5 |
10 |
27 |
Upcoming Games
-
Washington will play their next game on the road against Columbus. The Capitals have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .636 after a loss.
-
Columbus will play their next game at home against Washington. The Blue Jackets have a W/L % of .565 after a win and .528 after a loss.