Nic Dowd scores in OT, Capitals beat Bruins 3-2 in Game 1

<p>WASHINGTON &mdash; Nic Dowd deflected in T.J. Oshie’s shot from the blue line 4:41 into overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.</p>
<p>The Capitals weathered the loss of starting goaltender Vitek Vanecek to a lower-body injury early on, with backup Craig Anderson making 21 saves without allowing an even-strength goal.</p>
<p>Tom Wilson and Brendon Dillon also scored for the Capitals. Daniel Sprong and Anthony Mantha, making their playoff debuts, each had an assist.</p>
<p>Jake DeBrusk and Nick Ritchie scored for Boston, and Tuukka Rask made 29 saves. </p>
<p>Wilson opened the scoring 6:22 into the game. Boston’s Charlie McAvoy broke his stick on a shot attempt, leading to a 3-on-2 Washington breakaway with Oshie at the center of it. After a few quick passes, Wilson roofed it over Rask’s far shoulder.</p>
<p>The Bruins answered with 6:50 left in the period when Curtis Lazar won an offensive-zone faceoff and chopped the puck behind him to DeBrusk for a wrister that evaded Vanecek’s lunge to the right.</p>
<p>Vanecek hurt himself on the play and Anderson, who turns 40 on Friday, replaced him. He had not played a postseason game since 2017.</p>
<p>The 25% capacity crowd at Capital One Arena thought Alex Ovechkin put the Capitals ahead in the second period with a deflection goal off Dillon’s point shot. Instead the goal was credited to Dillon after replay showed the puck bounced through traffic and off a Boston stick, but not off Ovechkin’s.</p>
<p>With Dmitry Orlov in the box for high-sticking, the Bruins converted on their third power-play chance of the night with 3:22 left in the second. David Pastrnak’s shot redirected off Ritchie’s skate and through Anderson’s legs, barely making it over the line before a defender came in to clear it. </p>
<p>OSHIE STEPS UP AS CENTER</p>
<p>Normally a right wing, Oshie played out of position as Washington’s third-line center with Evgeny Kuznetsov unavailable due to COVID-19 protocols. Oshie cashed in with two assists.</p>
<p>Oshie was a game-time decision due to a lower-body injury he sustained May 8 that caused him to miss the Capitals’ regular-season finale. He left the bench briefly during the first period before returning to the game.</p>
<p>NEW FACES IN NEW PLACES</p>
<p>Capitals defenseman Zdeno Chara faced the Bruins in a playoff game for the first time after he spent 14 years as Boston’s captain. Chara finished with one shot and three hits.</p>
<p>Also, former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall made his Bruins playoff debut a month after joining them as a trade-deadline acquisition from Buffalo. The second-line left wing had two shots in 17:49 of ice time.</p>
<p>UP NEXT</p>
<p>The Capitals host Game 2 on Monday night before the teams head to Boston for Games 3 and 4 on Wednesday and Friday.</p>
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