Capitals OK winning Game 3 in 2OT with 'real ugly' goal

COLUMBUS -- The Washington Capitals weren't looking for style points.

They desperately needed a goal, any kind of goal, in overtime to pull out a victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Nationwide Arena on Tuesday.
It took until 9:00 of the second overtime before a Brett Connolly rebound bounced in off Lars Eller to give them a 3-2 win and life.
WATCH: [All Capitals vs. Blue Jackets Game 3 highlights | Complete Capitals vs. Blue Jackets series coverage]
Instead of trailing the Blue Jackets 3-0 in the best-of-7 series and becoming the first team in NHL history to lose the first three games of a Stanley Cup Playoff series in overtime, the Capitals are down 2-1 with Game 4 here Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; USA, SN, TVAS2, FS-O, NBCSWA).
"It means a ton," Eller said. "A win like this after playing that long? I'm sure they feel a lot more tired in that room than we're feeling right now. It gives you a lot of energy, but it's going to be a battle again in Game 4. But I think it's very fair that we at least have one win after these three games."
The Capitals thought they deserved better when the Blue Jackets won the first two games of the series in Washington in overtime. The Capitals were the better team for long stretches in each game but couldn't hold leads in either.
The Capitals let leads of 1-0 and 2-1 slip away Tuesday. This time, though, the Blue Jackets probably were the better team, particularly from the start of the third period on.
After Artemi Panarin's 2-on-1 goal 4:12 into the third period tied the game 2-2, the Blue Jackets had the Capitals on their heels, and goaltender Braden Holtby had to hold the fort. Holtby, who made his first start of the series after Philipp Grubauer played the first two games for the Capitals, stopped the final 17 shots he faced, including nine in overtime, and made 33 saves total.

After the Capitals escaped the rest of regulation, they went to their locker room knowing their season likely was hanging in the balance. Another overtime loss would put them in a 3-0 series hole that has been overcome just four times in NHL history.
The Capitals survived the first overtime, which included killing off a Blue Jackets power play on John Carlson's tripping penalty at 15:42 and Cam Atkinson hitting the crossbar. Then, their mood turned.
"I think the first overtime you're a little more focused," Capitals forward Tom, Wilson said. "The second overtime, a few more jokes come out and it's a little lighter."
One joke, of course, is that the Capitals don't play playoff games that end in regulation, particularly in the first round. They went to overtime in five of the six games in their first-round win against Toronto Maple Leafs last season.
"I guess that's the running joke now in the first-round series," Wilson said.

Eller's goal came at the end of a 3-on-2 rush. After Devante Smith-Pelly carried the puck over the Columbus blue line and dished the puck to Connolly on his left, Eller headed for the right post hoping for a rebound.
"Smith-Pelly put it in a good spot for me, and I just shot it as hard as I could, tried to surprise [goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky]," Connolly said. "It just kind of hit him. I thought it was going in, originally."
Bobrovsky stopped Connolly's shot with his glove but couldn't hold on to the puck and dropped it in the crease. Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski swiped at it to try to clear it to safety, but it went off Eller's left leg, then off Werenski's right leg and Eller's right skate before crossing the goal line for Eller's first NHL playoff overtime goal.
"It was a real ugly OT winner goal," Eller said. "I had a feeling it was going be one of those. It doesn't make the win less sweet."
The Capitals jumped on the ice to celebrate their win and then trudged back to their locker room exhausted but elated.

"Overtime games build character," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "Win or lose, you learn something from it."
By now, the Capitals should have a doctorate in playoff overtime. Dating back to the 2016 Eastern Conference Second Round against the Pittsburgh Penguins, 12 of their past 22 playoff games have gone beyond regulation.
At some point, they'd love to have an easy regulation win, but they're in no position to be picky. They need another win Thursday to even the series or they'll face elimination in Game 5 in Washington on Saturday.
"If it takes eight periods, we just want to win," Trotz said. "We won one game. We didn't get what we wanted at home, so our focus has to be on one game. To get fat and happy after a win right now, we're still in a hole. So we need a lot of desperation, we need a lot of commitment, we need a lot of focus next game, and let's see if we can get this tied up."