Capitals vs. Penguins: Game 3 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NHL Playoffs

The Pittsburgh Penguins got 47 saves from Matt Murray and held off a late surge by the Washington Capitals to secure a 3-2 win in Pittsburgh on Monday and grab a 2-1 lead over the Metropolitan Division's top seed in their second-round playoff series.

Early goals by Patric Hornqvist and Tom Kuhnhackl got the scoring started in the first period. Pittsburgh got another goal from Carl Hagelin in the second, and that would be enough to secure the win.

The Penguins celebrated the victory on Twitter:

The Penguins' momentum from Game 2 carried over into the first period of Game 3. Pittsburgh scored two goals in the matter of a minute. First, Hornqvist scored his fourth goal of the postseason on a tipped puck from Trevor Daley and Sidney Crosby with 13:23 left in the frame.

Josh Yohe of DK Pittsburgh Sports noted it wasn't a strong start for the Penguins, but they were able to get on the board:

Pittsburgh benefited from another tipped puck one minute later. Matt Cullen's attempt to center the puck was deflected into the air by defenseman Matt Niskanen, and Kuhnhackl directed it past Capitals goalie Braden Holtby to give Pittsburgh a two-goal lead.

CBS KDKA in Pittsburgh captured the general reaction at Consol Energy Center:

The Penguins also had a euphoric reaction when they took a 2-0 lead in front of their home crowd:

Pittsburgh outshot Washington in the first two games, but that wasn't the case in Game 3. Despite the Penguins taking the early advantage, the Capitals got off 14 shots apiece in the first and second periods, compared to only 14 combined for Pittsburgh after 40 minutes.

But one of those shots resulted in Pittsburgh's third goal late in the second period, when Hagelin scored for the third time in the postseason—and for the second straight game—with 4:57 left.

And he did it in style, via the NHL:

With Washington's aggressive offensive attack, Murray was the difference again. He allowed two late goals in the third period by Alex Ovechkin and Justin Williams, but Murray saw 49 shots come his way in relief of Marc-Andre Fleury (concussion) and stopped all but two of them.

Even though he hasn't seen much NHL action, Murray has been playing like a seasoned veteran during the playoffs, as James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail pointed out:

The home crowd made sure Murray heard the support, per Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com:

Even WWE commentator Corey Graves couldn't help but turn away from Monday Night Raw for a moment to acknowledge Murray's stellar play:

It was important for the Penguins to set the tone early after earning a huge road victory Saturday night, and Murray's play has been a major difference as Pittsburgh has taken a 2-1 lead in the series.

That doesn't mean it's over, though. Washington changed its approach and got more shots off Monday, but Murray was superb. The Capitals normally capitalize on those opportunities, and that needs to be their game plan heading into Game 4.

Postgame Reaction

Despite getting out to a strong start, Hornqvist admits that if not for Pittsburgh's young goalie, the Penguins might not have won this game.

"They throw a lot of pucks at the net, and without Murray, there's no way we win this game," Hornqvist said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "That's what good teams team do. They find a way to win games when they don't play their best, and that's exactly what we did tonight. We have to be better the next game."

Ovechkin, who scored a goal for the first time in 18 periods, per ESPN Stats & Info, thought Pittsburgh took advantage of Washington's self-inflicted errors.

"They play a good game, they use our mistakes," Ovechkin said, per the AP. "They're waiting and they use it. Good lessons."

And despite being up 2-1 in the series, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang said the team has much to improve on heading into Game 4.

"I think we have to forget about that one," Letang said, per the AP. "We're happy about the win but we have to play better."