Penguins Eliminate Capitals With 4-3 OT Victory To Win Series 4-2

The Pittsburgh Penguins skated to a 4-3 overtime home victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 6 thanks to a goal by Nick Bonino 6 minutes, 32 seconds into the extra session. The Penguins have now won the best-of-seven, Eastern Conference second-round series 4-2.

Penguins Eliminate Capitals With 4-3 OT Victory To Win Series 4-2

Pittsburgh led 3-0 until late in the second period thanks to two goals from Phil Kessel and one from Carl Hagelin, the latter two of which came on a power play just 33 seconds away from each other. (Kessel scored his second goal at 7:33 of the second, and Hagelin scored at 7:38). However, Washington’s T.J. Oshie answered with a power-play goal of his own to bring the score to 3-1 with 1:30 left in the second.

Capitals forward Justin Williams then followed up with a goal at 7:23 of the third, assisted by Nicklas Backstrom. The Penguins then fell apart, committing three straight delay-of-game penalties in 2:02. The Caps took their chance when defenseman John Carlson fired a shot at 13:01 on the power play to tie the game 3-3. The crowd groaned.

“Our heart and our drive and our commitment got us back into it,” Williams said. “But the playoffs are about owning big moments and we didn’t own enough of them.”

This game surely felt familiar to the frustrated Caps. Last year, it was a Game 7 overtime goal from the New York Rangers that ended the season for them in the second round.

“Every year, lots of expectations, lots of great players, but something missing,” Washington captain Alex Ovechkin said. “This group of guys can do better and bigger than just the second round. We have the best goalie in the league, we have a solid group of guys on the defensive side, all four lines can play well. You can see it. We just didn’t execute when we had a chance to put the puck in the net.” Ovechkin had two goals and three assists this series.

Washington defenseman Karl Alzner played just 5:16 of ice time because of a lingering groin injury that has kept him off the ice for practices for weeks was aggravated. He missed the last 10 minutes of the first period, tried to return but ultimately couldn’t make it.

The season-ending loss now raises new questions for the Capitals. What will it take for them to break through? Is it an organizational-level flaw? Is the Ovechkin era soon coming to an end?  Washington head coach Barry Trotz appeared to hint at it in his post-game press conference.

“When you’re in this game, the shelf life in the National Hockey League if you’re a top player is 10, 12 years,” Trotz said. “So when you don’t go that far the window sort of seems like it closes. And if you haven’t got past that it gets frustrating. It does. There’s no question. The sense of mortality sets in.”

The Caps have not reached the Eastern Conference Final since 1998 when they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final. The Penguins will now face off against the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh on Friday. The Lightning eliminated the New York Islanders 4-0 on Sunday to win their second-round series 4-1.

PHOTO: PITTSBURGH, PA – MAY 10: Carl Hagelin #62 of the Pittsburgh Penguins tips in a goal in the second period against Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals in Game Six of the Eastern Conference Second Round during the 2016 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Consol Energy Center on May 10, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)