Pittsburgh Penguins 3 Washington Capitals 2 (OT) – Behind a goal from Kris Letang in overtime, the Pittsburgh Penguins managed to avoid a three games to none deficit in the series against the Washington Capitals. The Penguins overcame Alexander Ovechkin’s 8th goal of the postseason, which was scored just 83 seconds into the game. Ruslan Fedotenko scored the equalizer for Pittsburgh in the second period, and Evgeni Malkin scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with just 5 minutes left in regulation. Nicklas Backstrom made it a game with 110 seconds left on the clock when his power play tally tied the game at two. However, Washington goalie Simeon Varlamov could not stop Letang’s shot, which deflected off Capitals defenseman Shaone Morrisonn before beating Simeon Varlamov for the victory.
Carolina Hurricanes 3 Boston Bruins 2 (OT) – Unlike the other overtime game that ended with a 3-2 score, this time, it was a Southeast team that came out on top. Jussi Jokinen’s goal in overtime propelled Carolina to a two games to one lead in the series. Eric Staal and Sergei Samsanov also scored for the Hurricanes, who have now taken their first ever series lead in a playoff series this year (not counting the series against the Devils during which Carolina was either tied or trailing by one game in the series in each of the seven games).
