It worked in Game 5, but the victory will be short-lived if Washington should lose Game 6 as it would still mean the end of the season.
Capitals players said there was no shortage of belief despite being down 2-1 after two on Penguins goals by Carl Hagelin and Phil Kessel, and Game 5 following a similar script of more shots but fewer goals.
Andre Burakovsky and Sweden's Nicklas Backstrom also scored for the Capitals, who had been outscored in the series despite peppering Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury with more shots.
The game marked the return of Penguin superstar Sidney Crosby who suffered the fourth concussion of his career when he was crosschecked in the head by Washington defenceman Matt Niskanen.
Best response: Ottawa Senators - The Senators scored two goals 33 seconds apart on a tic-tac-toe passing play between Erik Karlsson, Clarke MacArthur and Mike Hoffman, and a redirect by Tom Pyatt to take a 3-2 lead nearly midway through the second period, setting the tone for this game of wild swings.
There were three lead changes, punches and counter punches, acrobatic saves and near-saves, and the consistently superlative play of Erik Karlsson in a thrilling matinee that pushed the Senators one win from their first conference final in a decade.
This was the performance Capitals coach Barry Trotz was looking for when he said his top players didn't play well enough in Game 4, a 3-2 Penguins win. Kuznetsov already has a guarantee about Ovechkin for next game: "He's going to score two goals".
"We have to have a short memory, reset our mindset, go home and put our best game on the ice", he said, per Sam Kasan of the team's official site.
"We've talked about not sabotaging ourselves and we were on our way to do that again", Senators coach Guy Boucher said of the early deficit.
Sale won't be suspended for throwing behind Machado
Pitchers for both teams took retaliatory measures against opposing hitters, buzzing hitters with pitches and hitting them. The Sox are now 15-13 after splitting their last 4-game series with the Orioles, who are now 1st place in the AL East.
The Penguins went into the second intermission with a 2-1 lead, having won 37 of 39 games in that spot during the regular season and all six in the playoffs.
Michael Grabner appeared to win it for the Rangers less than 5 minutes into overtime, but it was disallowed because his redirection came on a high stick.
"It's incredible", Washington left winger Andre Burakovsky said. Crosby has 20 points (10 goals, 10 assists).
Game 6 is Tuesday night in NY.
New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) reacts after Ottawa Senators center Derick Brassard scored during the third period in Game 5 in the second-round of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoffs in Ottawa on Saturday, May 6, 2017.
"That was a huge, huge goal by Backy", Ovechkin said.
"It's always the most challenging game", Crosby said of elimination games. Taking the lead - their first on home ice in the series - gave them a chance to play a bit looser, and the Penguins weren't able to come back.
The Penguins pulled their goalie for the extra attacker with over two minutes remaining in the third but were unable to get even one past Holtby. We just missed. Some nights you just don't execute as well. After Backstrom tied the score at 2-2 at 2:49 of the third period, Bonino had his best scoring chance with a shot from the slot. We wanted a win and to get this win but its definitely good to have him back.. Even Noted Playoff Moment-Riser-Man Justin Williams hasn't made a big impact in this series. They gave up the first goal four times against Pittsburgh. "We have a couple days off now and then back to work".
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