NHL Update

Put fierce rivals together in an NHL playoff series and this is what you should get. Every minute of Monday night’s meeting between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins was physical, intense and dramatic.

The Capitals lost a two-goal lead in a 48-second span late in the third period, but pulled out a 3-2 victory 3:13 into overtime on Kevin Shattenkirk’s power-play goal. The Capitals went from cutting their deficit in this series to 2-1, to legitimately facing the possibility of a devastating loss and a 3-0 hole, to a victory that guarantees them at least a Game 5 at home.

The Penguins lost Sidney Crosby 5:24 into the first period to a head injury, and his status for the rest of the series hasn’t been determined. Conor Sheary went out after a collision with a teammate in the second period and didn’t return. And yet the Penguins rallied after a terrible start to the third period in which the Capitals completely dominated them and doubled their lead to 2-0.

The Penguins, who could not score on any of their five power-play chances, put the puck in the net in a self-made situation with an extra skater, pulling goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to set up Evgeni Malkin’s goal with 1:53 left. Justin Schultz tied the game 48 seconds later and anyone who has followed the Capitals expected yet another playoff collapse. It didn’t happen.

The drama will build before Wednesday night’s Game 4. Caps defenseman Matt Nyskanen, who played for the Penguins for four years, insisted he had no intention of injuring an off-balance Crosby with a cross-check; the Penguins said it was a dirty hit.

Tune in (7:30 p.m., NBCS Sports). This should be a good one.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman