Morning Player Notes in the Playoffs (Apr 29)

The marquee match-up of the second round was the only game of the night on Thursday, wasn't really necessary to add any sort of preview yesterday... we all knew what it was all about.

And you know what?  Game 1 lived up to the billing.  It's crazy to think that this series will only get better.

Game 1 had a whole lot of everything... skating, hitting and its fair share of scoring, as the Capitals snuck a 4-3 decision out of overtime, thanks to a T.J. Oshie hat-trick game-winner.  The game wasn't without momentum swings, as the Capitals rode the wave of the start the game to a 1-0 lead at the end of one, the Penguins turned the tides a bit with a couple of goals midway through the 2nd, but it didn't last long, with Oshie opening his tally 33 seconds later tying the game at 2-2 and that's how we got to the 3rd.

Oshie was on the board again, early in the 3rd, sneaking a backhand through Pittsburgh's Matt Murray, but Nick Bonino, a non-pool forward, tied it up before the midway mark and helped this game go into extra time.

The 29-year old forward in Box 17, capped off the night with a huge wraparound goal, that needed to be reviewed for a few moments, winning the game and finishing with 4 points on the night, thanks to the bonus point.  Oshie has been taken 11 times in the pool, so there were a few teams cashing in on his success.

Braden Holtby had to make 42 saves to capture his 2 points on the night, bringing his total up to 14 points in these playoffs.  On the Pittsburgh side, Carl Hagelin was notable in this one, picking up a couple of assists in the loss.

For those counting games played, yes... defenseman Justin Schultz was still a healthy scratch, as he has only appeared in one game for the Penguins in these playoffs.  It's a real shame that he's the most popular player left in Box 22, but those are the breaks with this series.

Click here for the updated injury/news page on the website