WASHINGTON -- No one has to tell the Washington Capitals about the opportunity they have in front of them after their 6-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Capital One Arena on Saturday.
Capitals can get over hump against Penguins in Game 6
Have lost to them in second round past two seasons, say toughest victory remains
But here it is in the simplest terms: Leading 3-2 in the best-of-7 series, they can close it out and advance to the conference final for the first time since 1998 with a win in Game 6 at Pittsburgh on Monday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVAS).
If you want to go deeper than that, they're also one win away from ending the Penguins' quest to win the Stanley Cup for the third consecutive season, after losing to Pittsburgh in the second round each of the past two seasons.
*****WATCH: [All Penguins vs. Capitals Game 5 highlights| Complete Capitals vs. Penguins series coverage]*
What would that mean to a team that has failed to get over the hump so many times in the past?
"I don't know if I could tell you exactly what it would mean," forward T.J. Oshie said. "None of us have ever been there. We're just looking to get the job done and maybe after we can talk about the feelings. But right now, we still got a lot of work to do."
Perhaps it's best that the Capitals don't think about it. It might bring back memories of their failures. They certainly don't want to think about what happens if they lose on Monday and have to play Game 7 back in Washington on Wednesday.
The disappointment of their 2-0 loss to the Penguins in Game 7 here last season lingers in the back of many of their minds.
But that disappointment seems to be driving them now. For the second time in the series, they came back to defeat the Penguins when they trailed in after two periods. As in their 4-3 win in Game 3 at Pittsburgh, the Capitals were down 3-2 after the second period.
Their second period Saturday was particularly ugly and erased the 2-1 lead they built with goals 33 seconds apart from John Carlson (18:22) and Brett Connolly (18:55) in the first. Washington was outshot 18-5, was shorthanded four times and gave up power-play goals to Sidney Crosby and Patric Hornqvist.
Heading into the second intermission, it appeared the Penguins were about to take control of the series. But the Capitals remained calm and regrouped in the locker room.
"I wish you can be in the room," center Evgeny Kuznetsov said. "You can see those eyes. Everyone just chilling. Everyone was on the same page."
Late in the second period, Washington coach Barry Trotz moved rookie Jakub Vrana up to play right wing on the top line with left wing Alex Ovechkin and Kuznetsov. With Tom Wilson serving the second game of his three-game suspension for an illegal check to the head on Zach Aston-Reese in Game 3, Devante Smith-Pelly was filling in for him on that line with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov.
After that line fizzled in Game 4, with Ovechkin being held without a shot on goal in a Stanley Cup Playoff game for the third time in his career, Trotz decided to stick with that combination in Game 5, but it was clear that it wasn't working. The decision to move Vrana up to that line paid off when Kuznetsov scored on a breakaway 52 seconds into the third period.
With Penguins defenseman Kris Letang put of position, Vrana passed to Kuznetsov to send him into the Pittsburgh zone on the left wing. Kuznetsov pulled the puck to his backhand and slid it between goaltender Matt Murray's pads to make it 3-3.
After that, it became a matter of which team made the next big play. It appeared it might be the Penguins when center Riley Sheahan fed defenseman Brian Dumoulin, who moved into the slot uncovered. Goaltender Braden Holtby, who was pivotal in keeping the Capitals within one goal in the second period, made a left-pad save on Dumoulin's backhand.
"Huge save," Trotz said. "We parted the seas a little bit and [Holtby] made a great save."
Kuznetsov grabbed the rebound, and Washington took off in the other direction. Ovechkin carried in on the right wing before throwing the puck in front. It went off Murray's right pad to Vrana, and he put it into the empty net to make it 4-3 at 15:22.
Oshie and Lars Eller each scored an empty-net goal after that.
"Obviously, it feels really good," Vrana said. "I try to stay cool. [Ovechkin] make a great play there. He just put it in front of the net. I was driving the net hard, trying to get the rebound. [Kuznetsov] the goal before made a great move on a breakaway. Those little inches, sometimes they just kind of win you the game. Today is today. Tomorrow is a new day. We are already focused for the next game."
The next game will potentially be one of the biggest in Capitals history. They're trying not to think about that.
"I don't think it changes a whole lot," Trotz said. "Getting that fourth victory is always the toughest. Everybody says it and we know it. It won't change for us. We know we've got to take every period, every shift, every game head-on. I thought today we responded really well, and it says a lot about our group, the character that we have developed the last little while with this group. We were resilient and we will continue to be resilient."
