Pittsburgh’s Nick Bonino scored 6 minutes, 32 seconds into overtime to give the Penguins a 4-3 win over Washington on Tuesday, clinching the hotly contested NHL Eastern Conference semi-final in six games and eliminating the team who had been the Stanley Cup title favorites.
The Capitals rallied from a three-goal deficit over the final 22 minutes of regulation, but Bonino’s second goal of the playoffs sent the Penguins to the Eastern Conference final against Tampa Bay.
Washington goaltender Braden Holtby made the initial stop on Carl Hagelin’s shot, but Bonino, camped right outside the crease, tapped in the winner.
Photo: AP
Washington forward Jay Beagle made a remarkable save with his belly in front of the net on Patric Hornqvist’s shot early in overtime, but there was no stopping Bonino’s tap-in.
Phil Kessel scored twice for Pittsburgh and Hagelin added a goal for Pittsburgh.
T.J. Oshie, Justin Williams and John Carlson scored during Washington’s comeback, but it was not enough.
Nine times the longtime rivals have met in the playoffs. Eight times the post-series handshake line has ended with Pittsburgh celebrating while Washington trudge toward the off-season.
Pittsburgh squandered 3-1 series leads in the 2011 and 2014 playoffs and it seemed that history might repeat when Washington won Game 5 in this series to cut the deficit to 3-2, but this time, the Penguins held firm.
Pittsburgh ended the regular season as the hottest team in the league and have now cruised through two rounds of playoffs by relying on the depth that has been cultivated behind stars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
All but two of Pittsburgh’s 15 goals during the series were scored by players who were not on the roster two summers ago. That group includes Kessel, acquired from Toronto in July last year to take some of the scoring load off Pittsburgh’s two franchise cornerstones, plus Hagelin and Bonino, who were Pittsburgh’s best line in the series.
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