National Hockey League
Washington 2, Philadelphia 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, May 8, 2021
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, District of Columbia
Referees: Peter MacDougall, Jon McIsaac
Linesmen: Ryan Gibbons, Kory Nagy
Attendance: 2133

Conor Sheary scored with 59.4 seconds left in overtime as the Washington Capitals defeated the visiting Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 Saturday night.

But since Washington (35-15-5, 75 points) did not win in regulation, that let the Pittsburgh Penguins clinch the East Division. Pittsburgh (37-16-3, 77 points) ended its regular season with a 1-0 victory over Buffalo earlier in the day. The Caps have one game remaining.

Lars Eller scored with 40 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. On the game-winner, Sheary took a quick pass from Nic Dowd and fired a shot that trickled between goalie Alex Lyon's pads.

The injury-depleted Capitals were even more short-handed in this contest. Alex Ovechkin remained out with a lower-body injury. Evgeny Kuznetsov and goalie Ilya Samsonov stayed on the Covid-19 protocol list.

Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson also sat out with lower-body problems. Tom Wilson injured his knee in the first period but returned.

T.J. Oshie then appeared to hurt his knee late in the second period and was ruled out with a lower-body injury. That left Washington with only 10 forwards during the third period and overtime.

In addition, goalie Vitek Vanecek, who has received much of the work in recent games, did not start. Instead, 39-year old Craig Anderson got the nod. This was just his second start of the season, and he had not played since April 15 but made 28 saves.

Neither team found too many scoring chances in the first period. Washington improved its defense from Friday's 4-2 loss to the Flyers, and Philadelphia again made life tough for the short-handed Caps.

The song remained the same in the second period as neither team scored again. Carl Hagelin of Washington had the best chance to that point when he broke in alone, but Lyon (38 saves) stopped a backhander midway through the period.

Scott Laughton finally snapped the tie when he took a pass from James van Riemsdyk on the right wing and then fired a high shot past Anderson 3:42 into the third for a 1-0 lead.

But the Caps forced extra time when Eller celebrated his 32nd birthday by scoring on the short side, and Sheary then won it in overtime.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Philadelphia   Washington
Scott Laughton 1 Points Lars Eller 1
Scott Laughton 1 Goals Lars Eller 1
James van Riemsdyk 1 Assists Nic Dowd 1
N/A Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Alex Lyon .950 Save Percentage Craig Anderson .966
Alex Lyon 38 Saves Craig Anderson 28
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Philadelphia 29 1 0-2 4-4 14 31
Washington 40 2 0-4 2-2 12 19
Upcoming Games
  • Washington will play their next game at home against Boston. The Capitals have a W/L % of .618 after a win and .650 after a loss.
  • Philadelphia will play their next game at home against New Jersey. The Flyers have a W/L % of .292 after a win and .533 after a loss.