Outside on F Street, two men on stilts wandered among antsy fans before Game 1 between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals started Friday. A DJ played and two women danced. A festive mood was struck underneath the clouds and cool of an otherwise forgettable spring day.
After midnight, the streets were filled with departing people who had viewed the expected. The Capitals took a one-game lead in their second-round series thanks to T.J. Oshie’s third goal of the night, a maybe-it-went-in wraparound that was deemed good following a lengthy review.
Washington 4, Pittsburgh 3 in overtime.
Before the series began, there was grumbling it was taking place so early in the playoff calendar. The top two teams in the Eastern Conference were going to play for the right to advance another round, not for the chance to go to the Stanley Cup Final. The series — star-filled because of rosters, angst-filled for Capitals fans because of the recent past — was well-designed for hoopla and marquee lights. It was just occurring too soon.
Game 1 showed no regard for those concerns. It was only confirmation that this could well last seven highlight-filled games, a grind stretching for weeks and producing a winner that would likely be nominated as the favorite to win the Stanley Cup.
“It’s going to be a war,” Capitals center Jay Beagle said. “That’s what we like. Two opponents that don’t like each other, and that’s what we expect. That was a fun game out there. Some guys stepped up big, and that was a huge win.”
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Flashing red glowsticks populated the stands at the opening. With 10:13 to play in the first period, they were thrust into the air following Andre Burakovsky’s end-to-end mission that resulted in a goal. The 21-year-old took a lead pass from Jason Chimera, zoomed up the right side, returned the puck to Chimera, then cleaned up the rebound for a 1-0 lead.
That held until the wildness of the second period. Pittsburgh scored twice in 57 seconds to move in front. Oshie tied the game 33 seconds later on his first of three goals. A diabolical fake from Penguins center Nick Bonino led to another Pittsburgh goal to tie the game again in the third period. Overtime seemed to fit for teams trading surges, goals, scraps and behind-the-play hits.
“This game could have went either way,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “It was an even game. Our guys played hard. I thought we carried stretches of momentum for a long period of time. It didn’t go our way. We’ll learn from it, put it behind us. We’ll try to get Game 2.”
There were eight power plays and no goals. The Capitals outshot the Penguins in the first period and overtime. Pittsburgh piled up shots in between.
Oshie’s final goal was still in doubt in the Penguins’ locker room after the game. Goaltender Matt Murray gave Oshie credit for the play, but wasn’t direct when discussing if the puck went across the line.
“He made a good play,” Murray said. “He had a little bit of time and space there wide, so I had to honor the shot and be aggressive. Just beat me to the far post, I guess.”
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Sullivan took an even more gracious route.
“I didn’t see all the angles, but obviously they saw one that they felt it went in,” Sullivan said.
It seemed a fitting end. The winner was not immediately clear after a nightlong tussle, with some early returns pointing out duos to watch going forward. Oshie and Kris Letang. Evgeni Malkin and Tom Wilson. Even Sidney Crosby and John Carlson had an exchange. Opening night was a hit.
“You saw the skill level on both sides,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “You saw the resiliency on both sides. You saw lots of star power and you saw some great saves. You saw special teams that were pretty strong. Yeah, I think going into it, it’s going to build more and more as we go along.”
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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