Caps-Rangers wild finish, Montreal-Tampa Bay set to start, and Anaheim trounces Calgary in Game 1.

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I think like everyone else, I was getting ready to make the necessary overtime adjustments (fresh beverages, etc.) with the clock winding down in a tied Game 1 between the Capitals and the Rangers last night. All of a sudden, the Caps translated a Nicklas Backstrom (possibly illegal) check and Alex Ovechkin pass to Joel Ward into a game-winner with one second left in regulation. It all happened so fast that the players (other than the ones who scored) and certainly the fans had to take a few moments to digest what they just witnessed. Dan Boyle was trying to get the game to overtime, and a couple seconds later, it was Washington who took Game 1 from the Rangers.

The game certainly provided a preview of what this series will be: some hard-hitting, fast-skating, good goaltending hockey. The game had lulls as most do, but for the most part it was one of the good low-scoring games.

The controversy after the game was the hit I made mention of earlier. Boyle had just gotten to the puck in the corner and hugged the boards while pinning the puck trying to kill the final seconds off the clock. Nick Backstrom hit him from behind, Ovechkin wrangled the puck and back-passed it to a waiting Ward for the dagger goal. There's a GIF of the hit through this link.  It's subjective whether or not that's a penalty given how inconsistently blindside-or-from-behind hits are called in the NHL. Regardless of whether it is or it isn't a penalty, it wasn't called and the Caps have the series lead.