Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images
With no Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ilya Samsonov in their starting lineup, and Vitek Vanecek lost early in the first period in their Game 1 matchup against the Boston Bruins, the Washington Capitals needed every member of the team to chip in in order to secure a “W”.
Not only did they receive it in the form of outstanding play from backup goalie Craig Anderson, but Center Nic Dowd scored the Overtime game-winning goal to help the Caps take a 1-0 series lead.
With the two teams tied 2-2 after 60 minutes of play, the Caps and Bruins headed to extra time, where Dowd scored the game-winning goal on assists from T.J. Oshie and Tom Wilson, at the 4:41 mark of the overtime period.
gonna watch this on repeat for a bit if y’all don’t mind…
feel free to join us pic.twitter.com/7yLrxNHLqx
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 16, 2021
The goal marked Dowd’s first career playoff overtime goal, and continues a strong campaign from the St. Cloud State product, who recorded a career-high in Goals (11) during the regular season and has evolved into a reliable player for Head Coach Peter Laviolette this season, improving other areas of his game such as his performance in the faceoff circle.
Nic Dowd scores his first career playoff overtime goal to give the Capitals a 1-0 series lead in their First Round series against the Boston Bruins.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) May 16, 2021
Dowd now has two career playoff goals and two points in 16 career playoff games, all with the Capitals.
