PITTSBURGH (AP) Pittsburgh’s Patric Hornqvist scored between the goaltender’s legs 2:31 into overtime to give the Penguins a 3-2 victory over Washington on Wednesday, taking a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven NHL second-round playoff series.
Washington’s Mike Weber tried to clear a shot, but the puck went right to Hornqvist in the circle. He buried it for his fifth goal of the postseason to move the Penguins within one win of eliminating the team that had been the Stanley Cup favorites throughout the season.
The Penguins had lost eight straight playoff games that went to overtime.
Matt Cullen and Trevor Daley also scored for Pittsburgh, and rookie goalie Matt Murray stopped 34 shots.
Jay Beagle and John Carlson scored for Washington. Braden Holtby made 29 saves, but the Capitals dropped a third straight game, something they did only once all season.
The Capitals dominated Game 3 everywhere but the scoreboard, due to a spectacular 47-save performance by Murray.
Washington needed just 2:58 to take the lead as Beagle beat Pittsburgh defenseman Ben Lovejoy to the puck on a dump in and flipped a backhander Murray’s way despite being nearly parallel to the goal line. The shot sailed over Murray’s shoulders and into the far top corner.
Daley’s first playoff goal in nearly two years tied it later in the period, as his shot from the top of the right circle deflected off a Washington defenseman and Holtby.
The 39-year-old Cullen, playing between a pair of forwards – Tom Kuhnhackl and Oskar Sundqvist – who were born when Cullen was well into his teens, put Pittsburgh in front by taking a stretch pass off the boards from Brian Dumoulin and beating Holtby between the legs.
Washington came up with a tying goal when Justin Williams stripped Derrick Pouliot deep in the Pittsburgh zone and slipped it across the ice to Carlson, who had little trouble firing it over Murray’s extended glove.
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