The Washington Capitals evened their best-of-seven first round series with the Boston Bruins on Thursday night with a 2-1 win at Verizon Center. Braden Holtby, the Capitals rookie goaltender who's been the MVP for Dale Hunter's club through the first four games, came up huge again and made 44 saves to even it up at 2-2. The Bruins dominated the first half of the game and peppered him all night, out-shooting the Caps 45-21, but he withstood the assault and only allowed a first-period goal to Rich Peverley on a 3-on-1 breakaway.
With just over nine seconds remaining, the Bruins put intense pressure on Holtby, putting multiple shots in front on the Caps' netminder. Patrice Bergeron had a shot to tie it up with a second remaining, but Holtby made a beautiful glove save. The shot, however, never should have counted because the clock operator did not start the clock right at the face-off, with it stuck on 9.5 for almost four full seconds. Thankfully, Holtby made the save to prevent what would have been a monumental controversy. Video of the clock error on the final sequence of the game:
Holtby's work ensured that Alexander Semin's beautiful second-period rocket stood up as the game-winning goal. The series now moves back to Boston for Game 5 on Saturday afternoon at TD Garden. The Caps will look to ride their hot goaltender and take their first lead in the series.
We'll have plenty more on these games and the rest of the 2012 NHL Playoffs on SB Nation D.C., so keep it locked to this StoryStream for all the latest news and updates. For more news, analysis, and discussion on Capitals hockey, please head over to Japers' Rink. For the opponent's perspective all series, check out Stanley Cup of Chowder. You can also head over to the SB Nation NHL hub page for more on hockey news as the playoffs begin.