Capitals extend series lead against Hurricanes with OT win in Game 2

WASHINGTON --Brooks Orpik scored 1:48 into overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 4-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Capital One Arena on Saturday.

Orpik received a pass from behind the net by Evgeny Kuznetsov and scored against Petr Mrazek from the left face-off circle.
It was Orpik's fourth goal in 151 NHL playoff games; three have been game-winners, including two in overtime.
"Kind of had them pinned in there," Orpik said. "The] winger on my side didn't have [his] stick. I saw [Kuznetsov] had full possession, dove in there and he made a perfect pass."
***[WATCH: [All Hurricanes vs. Capitals highlights]*
Washington took a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Game 3 is at Carolina on Monday.
Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson scored for Washington, and Braden Holtby made 25 saves.
"The playoffs start, you try to go one shift at a time, one period at a time," Oshie said. "But maybe somewhere in the back of your mind you're hoping you can get away from the two home games with a 2-0 (lead). We were able to do that. It feels good."

Jordan Staal, Lucas Wallmark and Sebastian Aho scored for the Hurricanes. Mrazek made 29 saves, including againstJohn Carlson with one second remaining in the third period.
"[Aho] has one goal. Our top guys are not on the score sheet. Theirs are," Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour said. "I feel pretty good that if we get those guys going, which they have all year, it'll give us a better chance to win, that's for sure."
Staal tied it 3-3 with 5:00 remaining in the third period, deflecting Dougie Hamilton's shot. It was Carolina's first power-play goal in eight opportunities in the series.
Wilson gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead at 8:55 of the third period with a wrist shot through a screen on a pass from Alex Ovechkin, who had two assists.

"He's made some pretty good plays to me over the course of the year," Wilson said. "If he does pass it, you want to score because if you don't, he's got a pretty good shot, too, so he might be upset."
Carolina tied it 2-2 at 16:49 of the second period when a shot rebounded off the end boards and Aho poked the puck in off Holtby for his first goal since March 9 (16 games).
"You'd hope it's big," Brind'Amour said of Aho ending his drought. "We've got to find another gear."
Backstrom gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead with his third goal of the series at 3:37 of the first. Ovechkin entered the zone, faked the shot and passed to Backstrom in front for the tip in. Oshie lifted a backhand past Mrazek at 9:26 for a 2-0 lead.

Wallmark got the Hurricanes within 2-1 at 15:54 of the first when he redirected Jaccob Slavin's shot from the point. The Capitals used a coach's challenge for goaltender interference but the call on the ice stood.
"It's really hard when you spot teams leads like that, like we have in the last two games," Hurricanes captain Justin Williams said. "We battled back. It's not enough."

They said it

"It's not like we're playing bad, but this time of year you've got to get that extra step and play even better. OK is not OK, so just try to play our best." -- Hurricanes forward Sebastian Aho
"He's played a lot of playoff games. You cannot put a price on experience in playoff hockey. I've been through it the last 10 years in the League, actually 10 years with him (with Washington and the Pittsburgh Penguins), and I know what happens in playoff time playing against a player like that." -- Capitals coach Todd Reirden on Brooks Orpik

Need to know

Hurricanes forward Micheal Ferland received a match penalty for a check to the head on Nic Dowd at 4:09 of the second period. Dowd remained in the game. ... The Hurricanes won 39 of 62 face-offs (62.9 percent). … Backstrom's goal was his 101st point in the playoffs, passing Daniel Alfredsson for fourth place on the NHL list among Sweden-born players. Nicklas Lidstrom is first with 183 points. … The Capitals have won Game 2 in 10 of their past 14 playoff series. … Teams that win the first two games of a best-of-7 playoff series have a series record of 318-50 (86.4 percent), including 241-30 when those victories come at home (88.9 percent).

What's next

Game 3 of Eastern Conference First Round at PNC Arena on Monday (7 p.m. ET; CNBC, SN, TVAS2, FS-CR, NBCSWA)