WASHINGTON — Nicklas Backstrom scored his second goal of the game 11:53 into overtime to give the Washington Capitals a 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday and a 3-2 lead in the first-round playoff series.
Braden Holtby made 16 of his 39 saves in the third period to help Washington get to overtime. Four of five games between the teams have gone past regulation making fatigue a factor for Game 6 Monday night in Columbus.
Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie scored along with Backstrom in regulation for the Capitals, who became the first home team this series to win a home game. Holtby has been in net for Washington's three consecutive victories after replacing Philipp Grubauer in Game 2, stopping 102 of 108 shots to turn the tide.
Fellow Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky allowed a soft goal to Kuznetsov as one of his four on 29 shots in the loss. Matt Calvert scored short-handed and on a breakaway and Oliver Bjorkstrand had a deflection goal for Columbus.
MAPLE LEAFS 4, BRUINS 3
BOSTON (AP) — Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk scored 1:19 apart in the second period, and then Toronto killed off a 5-on-3 and three more power plays in a row to beat Boston and avoid elimination.
Connor Brown and Andreas Johnsson each scored his first career playoff goal in the first period, and the Maple Leafs took a 4-1 lead to chase Tuukka Rask in the second. Toronto also led 4-1 in Game 7 of the teams' 2013 playoff series before the Bruins won in overtime en route to their second Stanley Cup final berth in two years. This time, Boston cut the deficit to one goal but the Leafs held on.
Frederik Andersen stopped 42 shots for Toronto, which returns home for Game 6 on Monday. Game 7 would be back in Boston on Wednesday, if necessary.
Jake DeBrusk and Sean Kuraly scored for the Bruins. Patrice Bergeron returned to the ice after missing one game with an undisclosed injury.
LIGHTNING 3, DEVILS 1
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nikita Kucherov scored his 27th career
The 19-year-old Mikhail Sergachev became the youngest player in Lightning history to score a playoff goal and Ryan Callahan, back in the lineup after missing the previous two games with an upper-body injury, sealed it with an empty-netter with 1.7 seconds remaining.
Tampa Bay advanced to a second-round series against the Boston-Toronto winner.
Kyle Palmieri scored for the Devils.
The Associated Press
