Gardiner finishes Canes' rally over Caps in OT

Jake Gardiner scored with 56 seconds left in overtime to give the visiting Carolina Hurricanes a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night. Gardiner came in on a two-on-one after Andrei Svechnikov pushed the puck forward to him. The defenseman raced up the left-wing and beat goalie Braden Holtby with a short-side shot.

Washington outshot Carolina 6-1 in the overtime, thanks mostly to a power play, but the Hurricanes came out on top despite trailing 2-0. The game marked the Capitals' home opener and a rematch of the first round of last year's playoffs when Carolina upset the then-defending champions in seven games.

Garnet Hathaway scored the game's first goal on a wrist shot from the edge of the left circle with 2:37 left in the first period, beating Carolina goalie James Reimer (32 saves) with a high shot. Brendan Leipsic got the only assist on the play, which started after a Hurricanes turnover deep in their own end. T.J. Oshie then gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead on a goal with 8:20 left in the second period. He scored his second goal in two nights, pushing a backhand shot just over the line. The officials reviewed the play to see if the puck crossed the line and determined that it did, and Washington had some insurance.

Hathaway appeared to score a second goal late in the second period on a shot from a tough angle near the right corner. But Carolina challenged the play, and it was overturned for goalie interference as Leipsic bumped Reimer in the slot. Carolina then tied the game with two third-period goals. Erik Haula redirected a shot past Holtby 2:36 into the period for a power-play goal. That cut the lead to 2-1.

Then Jaccob Slavin took a quick pass from Jordan Martinook and got one by Holtby at the 9:50 mark to tie the game and ultimately send it to overtime. Holtby finished with 25 saves.

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