Boyd Gordon got the fortunate bounce against Jaroslav Halak that the Washington Capitals so desperately needed last spring. Gordon's backhander from in tight bounced off of Halak and into his catching glove. However, Halak was unable to handle the puck and let it fall out of his glove and into the net at 10:02 to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead.
Gordon's and his linemates, Matt Bradley and DJ King, quickly put pressure on Halak after Gordon's tally, but were unable to get a quality shot on net.
The Blues Brandon Crombeen got the Blues on the board at 19:28 on a deflection of an Alexander Steen turnaround shot from the far boards that the screened Semyon Varlamov did not see. The goal came on the Blues 23rd shot of the game and 10th of the period, and ensured that the Blues would once again avoid being shutout by the Capitals as they have yet to in their franchise history.
Washington thwarted the Blues only power play of the period, which came late after Mike Green was whistled for slashing at 14:27.