SPORTS INSIDER WEEKLY – Capitals eliminate Flyers in round 1 of playoffs; Nationals beat Twins in 16 inning thriller

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Ceci Ferrara
April 25, 2016
Sports Writer
Sports Insider

The Capitals outlasted the Flyers 1-0 on Sunday night to win the series 4-2 and advance to the next round of the NHL Playoffs.

After winning the first three games in the best of seven series, the Caps hit trouble, dropping the next two games to give the Flyers an opportunity to tie the series and force a game 7. Washington headed to Philadelphia with the hope of closing out round 1 and avoiding a must-win scenario this early in the playoffs.

Behind the efforts of goaltender Braden Holtby and center Nicklas Backstrom, the Capitals were able to accomplish just that. Holtby made 26 saves in his second shutout of the Flyers in this series. They were also shutout in game 1, when the Caps won 2-0.

After a scoreless first period, Backstrom made the game-changing goal, which set up the victory. His second period goal, as he tried to avoid the puck, broke a scoring drought that had lasted more than 106 minutes. The goal turned out to be the only one by either team for the rest of the game, which sent Philadelphia home and the Capitals on to the next round.

“We feel like we accomplished something big here,” Capital T.J. Oshie said. “We know there’s still a long ways to go, but Philly gave us a great series, and they played hard. We’re tired in here. We had to work for it, so it was fun, a fun way to win.”

The Capitals will next face the Penguins in the playoffs for the first time since 2009. In their last meeting, Pittsburgh beat Washington in seven games in the first round of the playoffs. But this time, the Capitals are one of the best — if not the best team in the NHL, and they’re confident they will be able to hold their own against their longtime rival.

“Every team in the playoffs is going to give you a challenge,” Holtby said. “The Penguins are obviously rolling, especially offensively, but we’re confident in our game. We’re confident in our game plan to shut teams down defensively and still have offense, so it’s going to be a hard-fought battle obviously.”

Nationals

What started out as a normal Sunday afternoon ballgame between the Nationals and Twins turned into the craziest, most unbelievable game so far this season.

The Nats (14-4) scored early, with Matt den Dekker, who was starting for Bryce Harper, homering to give Washington a 1-0 lead. The Twins (5-14) responded with a run of their own in the third, after which the game remained tied, and largely uneventful.

That was until the top of the eighth, when Brian Dozier hit a three-run shot to give Minnesota the lead. The Nats scored two runs in the bottom of the inning, but still trailed. In the bottom of the ninth Harper came into the game as a pinch hitter for Michael Taylor, and hit a solo home run to tie the game and force extra innings. After four scoreless innings, both teams managed to score a run apiece in the 15th, to once again tie things up.

It seemed as though the game might never end.

Then, in the bottom of the 16th inning, Chris Heisey hit a walk-off home run for Washington to break the tie and win the game.

“This is the craziest. Yeah, this is the craziest,” first year Nationals manager Dusty Baker said. “We always say: Go to the ballpark, you always see something you’ve never seen before. Well, I certainly hadn’t seen anything like this. This was crazy.”

The victory gave the Nats a sweep of their series with the Twins, who are struggling so far this season. After a short one-day break, the Nats will host the division rival Phillies for a three-day series.

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