In Game 1, Capitals left winger Andre Burakovsky opened the scoring off a rush a little over halfway through the first period only for Pittsburgh to bounce back in the second period with goals by defenseman Ben Lovejoy and centre Evgeni Malkin. Right winger T. J. Oshie then tied the game for Washington later in the period and then scored less than nine minutes into the third to give his team a 3–2 lead. Their lead was relatively short-lived as Penguins centre Nick Bonino evened the game about five minutes later sending Game 1 into overtime. In the extra session, Oshie skated around the Penguins' goal with the puck for a wraparound chance, but goaltender Matt Murray got a piece of it. In referee Dan O'Rourke's eyes, the puck had crossed the line, so he signaled a goal the play then was under review, and after a closer look, the puck had gone over the line by the length of a stick blade, and the referees awarded the goal to the Capitals giving Oshie the hat-trick and Washington a 1–0 series lead. Game 2 was a tight, low-scoring affair and it was Pittsburgh who evened the series with a 2–1 win. Pittsburgh's goals were scored by left winger Carl Hagelin and former-Capital Eric Fehr, and Washington's only goal was scored by centre Marcus Johansson. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby made 35 saves, while his counterpart Matt Murray made only 23.
