OSHIE HAT TRICK COMPLETED IN OVERTIME LEADS CAPITALS TO GAME 1 WIN

A T.J. Oshie Hat Trick, his first career playoff hat trick at 9:33 of overtime lead the Capitals past the Penguins in a back-and-forth opening game of their Second Round series.

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS

• Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (42 SV) registered his 21st career playoff win (all w/ WSH) to surpass Olie Kolzig (20) for the most in franchise history.
• The Capitals improved to 8-1 in the opening game of their nine all-time playoff series against the Penguins. Pittsburgh, however, has rebounded to win seven of their first eight head-to-head series
• Predators head coach Peter Laviolette was mic’d up following his team’s Game 7 victory over the Ducks in the First Round
• Actor Kevin Spacey, the face of Florida’s “Spacey in Space” hoodie, showed his support for Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov in the EA SPORTS NHL 17 Cover Vote.

BERGERON, KESLER AND KOPITAR VOTED SELKE TROPHY FINALISTS
The NHL announced that Boston’s Patrice Bergeron, Anaheim’s Ryan Kesler and Los Angeles’ Anze Kopitar are the three finalists of the 2015-16 Frank J. Selke Trophy, which is awarded “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game.”

CENTRAL DIVISION FOES CONTINUE STORIED RIVALRY
The Stars and Blues renew their rivalry when they meet in Game 1 of their Second Round series at American Airlines Center. These franchises, who both joined the NHL in 1967-68, have met 12 previous times in the postseason – with each winning six series. The head coaches of these two teams also have playoff history. Current Blues head coach Ken Hitchcock led Dallas to its first and only Stanley Cup in 1998-99, defeating current Stars head coach Lindy Ruff (then with Buffalo) in six games in the Final. Dallas and St. Louis boast two of the top goal-scorers from the regular season: Stars captain Jamie Benn ranked third with 41 goals, while Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko finished fourth with 40.

SHARKS, PREDATORS RENEW POSTSEASON ACQUAINTANCES
The Sharks and Predators match up for the third time in the postseason when they face off in Game 1 of their Second Round series at SAP Center. San Jose has won the previous two playoff meetings between these clubs, both in five games, in the 2006 and 2007 Western Conference Quarterfinals. Sharks forwards Patrick Marleau (10-4—14 in 10 GP) and Joe Thornton (0-10—10 in 10 GP) were instrumental in those two series wins, while the lone player on the current Predators roster who faced San Jose in those back-to-back series is defenseman Shea Weber (2-3—5 in 9 GP).

THURSDAY’S RESULT
Home Team in Caps
WASHINGTON 4, Pittsburgh 3 (OT) – WSH leads 1-0

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
St. Louis @ Dallas, Game 1, 8:00 p.m.
Nashville @ San Jose, Game 1, 10:30 p.m.