NHL Playoffs 2018: Takeaways from Sunday's Scores and Bracket Results

After blowing a two-goal lead in Game 1 of their second-round NHL playoff series against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Washington Capitals found themselves with a two-goal lead at the start of the third period once again in Game 2.

There may have been some fear and trepidation on the Washington bench, but this time head coach Barry Trotz's team would hold on to the lead and even added an empty-net goal. The Caps held the Pens off the board in the third period and squared the series at 1-1 with a 4-1 victory.

The Caps may have gotten a break during that crucial third period. As the two teams approached the midway point of that stanza, Sidney Crosby passed the puck from behind the net, and Patric Hornqvist was able to jam it to the goal line, and a portion of the black disc made it over the line.

Perhaps the whole puck made it past the line, and that would have cut the Pens deficit to one goal. However, when the play was reviewed by video officials at the league office in Toronto, it was impossible to tell that the entire puck crossed the line, and a no-goal call was confirmed.

The Caps once again started the scoring early, as Alex Ovechkin whistled a wrist shot over Matt Murray's glove after just one minute and 26 seconds of the first period. The Caps also got a goal from Jakub Vrana in the first period, and Brett Connolly scored the first postseason goal of his career in the second period. Nicklas Backstrom scored the empty-net goal, while Kris Letang scored the only goal for the Penguins.

"You can see what happened last game when we get the lead 2-0 and they come back and win the game," Ovechkin said, per Stats/Associated Press (h/t CBS Sports). "They're experienced team, they're not going to give up and they're not gonna give easy play for us. We have to earn it. Today I think we play a solid game, everybody was in and we get the result."

The series shifts to Pittsburgh for Games 3 and 4. The third game of the series will be played Tuesday night.

Here's a link to the Stanley Cup bracket.

The Nashville Predators were pushed hard in Game 2 of their series with the Winnipeg Jets, but they survived a double-overtime thriller and squared the series at 1-1.

Kevin Fiala scored the game-winning goal at the 5:37 mark of the second overtime period after taking a pass from Craig Smith. Fiala quickly whipped his shot by Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck, and the Preds poured over the bench to congratulate themselves on the 5-4 triumph.

This was a game Nashville desperately needed to win since they had dropped Game 1 on their home ice. They carried a 4-3 lead into the late stages of the third period, but Mark Scheifele scored the tying goal for the Jets with Hellebuyck pulled for an extra skater at the 18:55 mark.

While both sides had opportunities to win in the overtime periods, the Predators carried much of the action and dictated the pace in the extra time.

Pekka Rinne faced 50 shots in the Nashville net, and he stopped 46 of them.

"It's huge, a big difference being 2-0 or 1-1," Rinne said, per Stats/AP (h/t CBS Sports). "Obviously, we'll take this. It was an emotional game, and now it's time to go on the road and we need to steal a couple of wins in their building."

The two teams will meet Tuesday in Game 3 in Winnipeg.