Penguins vs. Capitals: Game 1 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NHL Playoffs

T.J. Oshie's third goal of the night was the biggest of his NHL career, as it gave the Washington Capitals a 4-3 overtime win in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night at the Verizon Center.

Oshie, who scored Washington's second and third goals of the night as well, finished a wraparound attempt that slid behind the goal line, which had to be reviewed before being confirmed, nine minutes, 33 seconds into the extra period.

Sportsnet shared a replay of the game-winner:

Fox 5 DC's Grant Paulsen was excited, to say the least, after the Capitals took Game 1:

The American had never scored more than three goals in a single postseason, but his big night was helped by the league moving up the nets, according to Sportsnet's John Shannon:

Pittsburgh had the quicker start, and Chris Kunitz almost put the Penguins up within the first minute when a wrist shot rang off the post and deadened behind goaltender Braden Holtby before he covered it up. 

The NHL on NBC took a humorous look at the play:

A couple of minutes later, a neutral-zone turnover presented the Capitals with their first chance of the night, which gave Alex Ovechkin a breakaway on young goaltender Matt Murray, who was up for the challenge and turned away the backhanded attempt.

Hockey Night in Canada was impressed with the 21-year-old's strong start against such a dangerous goal scorer:

"

Murray to Ovechkin #WSHvsPIT pic.twitter.com/WDWJojI1iT

— HockeyNightInCanada (@hockeynight) April 29, 2016"

It was Washington's only shot in the first six minutes of the game, as Pittsburgh outshot its opponent 5-1. A Matt Cullen trip tilted momentum in Washington's favor as it launched an assault on Murray's goal with seven straight shots. But Murray withstood the barrage momentarily. 

Andre Burakovsky was the first to beat Murray, scoring with 9:47 to go in the first period after a quick transition gave the Capitals an odd-man rush. Murray padded Jason Chimera's shot away, but the rebound came out to Burakovsky, who buried the loose puck, via NBCSN:

The goal was Burakovsky's first point of the playoffs, but he has had success against this particular opponent, as Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post pointed out:

Murray wasn't shaken by the early goal, though, as he matched Holtby save for save over the next 20 minutes. Hockey's newest fan, Tony X., liked what he saw from Pittsburgh's young goalie:

"

murray still dope 1st goal was kinda fluke

— Tony X. (@soIoucity) April 29, 2016"

The goalies on both sides took a beating after a wild 90-second stretch in the middle of the second period.

Ben Lovejoy finally found a reply for the Penguins with 9:20 left after Nick Bonino deked out a pair of Washington defensemen. He wasn't able to finish, but Lovejoy followed the play and put home the rebound, via NBCSN:

DKonPittsburghSports.com's Josh Yohe marveled at the soft hands of Lovejoy:

But Bonino's excellent rush set up Lovejoy's chance, and CCM Hockey gave the assist man a shoutout:

The silky moves reminded ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun of one of the greatest Penguins ever:

Evgeni Malkin put the Penguins up 57 seconds later, when he unleashed a screamer off the post and in, via NBCSN:

CBS Sports' Sam Vecenie was floored by Malkin's goal: 

The lead didn't last long, though, before Oshie came down the right wing on the rush and snapped a high wrister past Murray's glove side, via NBCSN:

Paulsen launched Oshie's status to another level after that goal:

Play grew more and more physical after the sudden outburst of goals as the two Metropolitan Division rivals tried to grab momentum in any way they could. 

Jay Beagle narrowly averted disaster when Kris Letang's stick got lodged in his helmet, via NBCSN:

The Capitals retook the lead in the third period, as Oshie again backhanded a soft shot under Murray, who was slow to get down to the ice.

Oshie's second of the night gave Barstool Sports' Charlie Wisco another opportunity to gush about the forward:

Some of the blame had to fall on Murray, and LeBrun was quick to point that out:

Chippy play continued to escalate, and Washington enforcer Tom Wilson was lucky to not have been penalized for a knee-to-knee hit on Conor Sheary.

The league has been trying to eliminate that type of play ever since Darcy Tucker all but ended Michael Peca's career in the 2002 playoffs, yet the officials missed the call, much to the surprise of LeBrun:

Bonino tied things up with 11:18 to go in the game after Phil Kessel won a puck along the boards in the Washington zone. After almost falling, Bonino worked his way into the slot, received a pass from Carl Hagelin and saw his wrister go off the stick of Washington's Nate Schmidt and past Holtby, via NBCSN: 

Bonino was a big reason why the Penguins were still in Game 1, and NHL.com's Dan Rosen realized that:

Game 1 of the titanic heavyweight bout didn't disappoint Sportsnet's Chris Johnston:

Ovechkin had a chance to give the Capitals the lead on a breakaway with three-and-a-half minutes left in regulation, but Murray, much like he did in the first period, stoned the All-Star. 

ESPN.com's Jon Buccigross loved the game-saving denial:

It was the last big chance of regulation, and a fourth period of play didn't surprise many fans who were watching the two evenly matched teams, such as TSN's Gino Reda:

If there were any doubts over whether this would be an entertaining series, this first game likely eliminated them. These are two skilled teams that have mean streaks and excellent goaltending, and those are the ingredients for a classic series.

What adds another dimension is that the two biggest stars, Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, weren't the headlining contributors in Game 1.

As two of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference, Washington and Pittsburgh should have been destined to meet in the conference final, but due to the league's desire to put more value on divisional play, this is just a semifinal round.

Whoever does manage to come out of the series will likely be the favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the Stanley Cup Final.

Postgame Reaction

When asked to sum up his night, Oshie kept it simple, per Frank Seravalli of TSN:

He also confirmed the thoughts of the thousands of fans who are keeping an eye on the series, per Johnston:

Capitals head coach Barry Trotz took the media through the final review, per Rosen:

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan had other feelings on the goal, per Rosen:

Murray, who was the closest to the play, thought the puck didn't go over the line, per Rosen:

Both the winning and losing sides will have to forget Thursday's result quickly. Given the talent that the series features, the remaining games are going to be relentless, physical and tight. 

Any mistake is going to be magnified tenfold, and it would only be fitting if the matchup goes seven games. 

The Penguins need to ensure that Murray remains the confident goalie who took down the New York Rangers in the first round. The Capitals will exploit any hesitation in goal, and things could get ugly. 

Washington, on the other hand, can't let up, no matter how much it dominates a game. The Capitals went through spurts in which they allowed the Penguins to outwork them Thursday—as though they felt their slim lead was comfortable. That won't fly in the playoffs, and they will be burned for it in the future.

Regardless, this was just the first installment of a series that is slated to be the best of the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs.