Alex Ovechkin, Capitals Advance to Conference Final with Win vs. Penguins

The Washington Capitals are headed to the Eastern Conference Final of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 in overtime Monday night at PPG Paints Arena.

Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the winning goal five minutes, 27 seconds into overtime.

Alex Ovechkin assisted on Kuznetsov's goal, giving him his seventh point of the series and 15th point of the postseason. Ovechkin got the puck ahead to his compatriot, who split the Penguins defense and beat Matt Murray through the five-hole to clinch the series.

NHL on NBC shared the game-winner and the Capitals' subsequent celebration:

Tom Kuhnhackl was inches away from forcing a Game 7. At the 2:54 mark of overtime, he fired a wrist shot that caromed off the left post. The Athletic's Seth Rorabaugh noted the reaction of the home fans when they realized Kuhnhackl's shot missed the mark:

As the score would attest, defense was the dominant theme throughout the night. The Penguins and Capitals combined for 52 shots, while Murray and Braden Holtby made a number of impressive saves for their respective squads. Murray finished with 28 stops, while Holtby had 21.

Following a nervy opening period in which the Penguins struggled to bring the home crowd into the game, the Capitals ratcheted up the pressure by breaking the scoreless deadlock 2:13 into the second period.

Nathan Walker brought the puck out from behind the net and found Alex Chiasson, who fired a wrist shot past Murray. NHL GIFs shared a replay of the opening tally:

The Washington Post's Isabelle Khurshudyan noted how Chiasson and Walker were two unlikely candidates to step up in a pivotal playoff moment:

Washington's lead lasted a little over nine minutes before Kris Letang tied the game. Sidney Crosby won a faceoff and quickly got the puck to Brian Dumoulin, who set Letang up for a slap shot just inside the blue line. With the assist, Crosby collected his 185th career playoff point, which ties him with Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman, per NHL Public Relations.

Justin Schultz narrowly missed out on putting the Penguins ahead. Holtby got his left arm on the shot to deflect it away from goal in the final seconds of the second period. 

A team doesn't win back-to-back Stanley Cups without getting a little lucky. Kuhnhackl's narrow miss and Holtby's save on Schultz were the kinds of things that would've broken right for the Penguins in 2016 and 2017 but instead went against them Monday night.

The Stanley Cup's official Twitter account had the perfect reaction to Pittsburgh's loss:

Many Capitals fans likely felt a lingering sense of dread when the Penguins bounced the Philadelphia Flyers out of the first round, thus setting up a second-round matchup. Washington hadn't advanced past the second round since 1998, and Pittsburgh was responsible for knocking the team out in each of the past two seasons.

As good as Monday's win must feel, the Capitals' job isn't done, and beating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the conference final won't be easy. Tampa Bay won the most games (54) and had the third-most points (113) in the NHL during the regular season, and the Lightning have lost just twice in the opening two rounds.

Washington will need Holtby to continue playing like he did in Game 6 in order to reach the second Stanley Cup Final in franchise history.