Capitals strike early, hold off Canes' rally in Game 1

[April 12, 2019]    Nicklas Backstrom scored two of Washington's three first-period goals, and the Capitals held off a late Carolina rally for a 4-2 victory over the visiting Hurricanes in Game 1 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series Thursday night.

Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom (19) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal on Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Petr Mrazek (34) in the first period in game one of the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

The Capitals, who won the first Stanley Cup in franchise history last spring, took a 1-0 lead in the series with the victory. Game 2 is set for Saturday afternoon in Washington.

Backstrom had multiple goals for the third time in his playoff career, coming just over three minutes apart in that opening period. Alex Ovechkin also scored in the first period, and John Carlson notched a hat trick of assists, getting helpers on all three first-period goals. That tied the NHL record for most assists in a period of a playoff game.

Lars Eller added an empty-net goal, and goalie Braden Holtby finished with 27 saves. The Hurricanes outshot Washington 29-18.

The Capitals struggled on offense early, as Carolina slowed them through the neutral zone, but that eventually changed. Washington needed several minutes to get its first shot on goal.

Backstrom scored the first goal 9:58 into the period. He fired a long shot over the glove of goalie Petr Mrazek to give Washington a 1-0 lead.

Backstrom struck again on the power play just over three minutes later, thanks to a great pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov near the right boards. Backstrom took the pass, which made its way through traffic, and buried it from right in front.

Ovechkin then made it 3-0 with 1:55 left in the period, also on the power play. A loose puck got knocked around in front of the Carolina goal, bounced over to him, and he shot it past Mrazek.

Carolina finally got on the board when rookie Andrei Svechnikov scored 5:07 into the third period. The Hurricanes the cut the lead to 3-2 when he got a second goal a little over two minutes later, making Svechnikov (19 years, 16 days) the youngest player with multiple goals in a playoff game since 1997.

Washington needed to kill off two penalties in the final nine minutes and play solid defense. Eller locked it up with an empty-net goal with 37 seconds remaining.

--Field Level Media

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