WASHINGTON (AP) Braden Holtby spun around and saw the puck on the goal line. Maybe it was in. Maybe it wasn’t.But after mounting another two-goal lead and this time building on it instead of blowing it Womens Jared McCann Jersey , the Washington Capitals made sure it wasn’t close enough for one questionable call either way to make a difference. With fresh memories of coughing up that same lead in Game 1, this time they took it to the Pittsburgh Penguins and emerged with a 4-1 victory in Game 2 to tie the second-round series.”You can see what happen last game when we get the lead 2-0 and they come back and win the game,” said Alex Ovechkin, who scored his seventh goal of the playoffs. ”They’re experienced team, they’re not going to give up and they’re not gonna give easy play for us. We have to earn it. Today I think we play a solid game, everybody was in and we get the result.”It was a result that came with controversy and a potentially significant aftermath as the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion-Penguins came out on the wrong side of a coach’s challenge, the NHL’s video review on what would have been their second goal and lost defenseman Brian Dumoulin after a hit to the head by Tom Wilson.Holtby stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced to frustrate the Penguins, robbing captain Sidney Crosby and linemate Jake Guentzel with sliding pad saves to continue his strong play in the postseason.The Penguins thought he should’ve allowed one more goal to Patric Hornqvist in the third period. No definitive replays showing the puck over the goal line and Wilson’s hit that injured Dumoulin left them steaming but also kicking themselves for starting slow and falling behind again.”They won the game in the first period,” Hornqvist said. ”I don’t think we played our best game. … They were all over us.”After blowing three two-goal leads through the first seven games of the playoffs, Washington at least temporarily solved that problem. Ovechkin beat Matt Murray 1:26 in, Jakub Vrana scored on the power play later in the first period and, unlike Game 1, the Capitals made it 3-0 when Brett Connolly scored on a breakaway early in the second.”Game 1 it was tough, we played a really good game I think and they just kind of found a way to get some breaks and score some timely goals Jonathan Huberdeau Jersey ,” Connolly said. ”We learned from that this time around.”The Capitals are learning some about Murray, having now scored all five of their goals against him in this series glove side. He made 18 of his 28 saves in the first period and had to in order to keep Washington from turning this into a blowout.Murray was not the least bit happy when the league ruled Connolly’s push on him moments before Vrana’s goal was not enough to keep him from being able to make the save.”Pretty disappointed,” Murray said. ”As a goalie you just want to be able to do your job and when something like that happens and you can’t do it, you just want to see the rule upheld.”Pittsburgh had an even bigger reason to be angry when Wilson wasn’t penalized for checking Dumoulin in the head with his left shoulder in the second. Dumoulin never returned, could potentially miss Game 3 on Tuesday and Wilson is in danger of being suspended.”He made contact with his head,” Crosby said. ”Given his history and things like that, I’m sure the league will take a good look at it.”Wilson watched multiple replays and came away believing there was nothing else he could do on the play because Dumoulin stopped and braced for a hit from Ovechkin at the last second. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said he had an opinion of the hit but declined to share it.Wilson was already ready to move on.”It’s a bit of an unfortunate play that he got hurt,” he said. ”We’ll see what happens and we’ll keep moving forward here. There’s more important things going on. We’ve got a team in here that’s pretty good and confident and we’ve got to go to Pittsburgh and get a game.”NOTES: The Capitals have now killed 22 consecutive penalties dating to Game 2 of their first-round series against Columbus. … Kris Letang scored Pittsburgh’s only goal on a floater from the point in the second period. … The Penguins were without star center Evgeni Malkin for the third consecutive game because of an apparent leg injury. Sullivan said Malkin could return for Game 3. … Ovechkin tied Crosby and Guentzel for the playoff lead in goals. … The Penguins’ streak of road playoff victories ended at six.— VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Thatcher Demko was nervous before stepping on the ice.It sure didn’t show.The 23-year-old goalie made 36 saves in his second NHL game, leading the Vancouver Canucks to a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night.“An opportunity for me,” Demko said. “I’m just really excited and wanted to make the most of it.”Alex Edler, Sven Baertschi, Brock Boeser and Loui Eriksson scored for Vancouver. Bo Horvat had two assists.Buffalo got goals from Evan Rodrigues, Kyle Okposo and Sam Reinhart. Linus Ullmark stopped 19 shots.“For a large majority of the game we played the way we wanted to Keith Yandle Jersey , but those mistakes we’re making are just a little too big,” Reinhart said. “I’m sure we can correct and we are going to.”Demko, who made one appearance for the Canucks last season, was called up Jan. 4 from the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League after Vancouver traded backup goalie Anders Nilsson to Ottawa.“I’ve been working hard and just patiently waiting for that first chance,” Demko said.He was tested early and often Friday, and his performance had the crowd chanting “Dem-Ko! Dem-Ko!” in appreciation of some highlight-reel saves.“He was great. Good to see. He was one of our best players tonight,” Vancouver coach Travis Green said.Rodrigues beat the young goaltender 8:48 in after Rasmus Ristolainen got a pass to the left wing down low and Rodrigues chipped it up over Demko’s pad.Vancouver had yet to register a single shot.Edler got the Canucks on the board 3½ minutes later with a massive slap shot from the blue line. The speeding puck squeezed through traffic and past Ullmark down low.Vancouver went up by one at 15:31 of the first after defenseman Derrick Pouliot sliced a pass through the Buffalo crease to Baertschi, who collected it on his tape and popped the puck into a wide-open net.The Swiss left wing sustained a concussion in October that kept him out of the lineup for 30 games. He has six points since he returned late last month.Early in the second, Pouliot and fellow defenseman Erik Gudbranson got caught behind the Vancouver net, leaving Okposo wide open at the hash marks. The right wing got the puck and flipped a backhand past Demko to even the score.Vancouver pulled ahead once again eight minutes into the period.Horvat stripped Buffalo’s Lawrence Pilut of the puck and made a beautiful pass to Boeser in front of the Sabres net. The right wing tipped it in for his 16th goal of the season.“Me shooting the puck hasn’t been working so I thought I’d give it to somebody who’s going to put it in the net,” Horvat said.Horvat doesn’t have a goal since Dec. 20, but his assist was his 200th career point.“Never when you’re playing in the NHL do you think you’ll be able to hit these kind of milestones,” he said. “It’s really exciting and it feels even better to get that win.”The lead didn’t last long. Almost three minutes later, Conor Sheary made a quick pass to Reinhart in front of the Vancouver crease and he put in a no-look backhand up high.“Probably half our team didn’t play their best hockey game. And when you can not play your best and win Authentic Nick Bjugstad Jersey , that’s a real bonus in the NHL,” Green said.“Our goalie gave us a good period in the third period. And we found a way to win a hockey game.”Nearly six minutes into the third, Canucks left wing Josh Leivo dug out the puck from behind the Buffalo net and dished it to Eriksson. He put a one-timer past Ullmark for his fourth point in three games.The Sabres had opportunities to tie it again on a power play late in the third. Ullmark was pulled with 87 seconds left, but Demko held strong.“Responsibility without the puck, that was the difference. But I can’t complain, we had a heck of a game,” Buffalo coach Phil Housley said.The Canucks registered just four shots in the opening period. Demko kept them in a game that got off to an “ugly” start, according to Horvat.“That’s unbelievable. Especially at a young age, coming in. These are meaningful games and he stepped up like great players do and he played phenomenal tonight,” Horvat said. “We owe him a lot of credit.”NOTES: Vancouver’s Nikolay Goldobin was a healthy scratch for the second game in a row. … The defeat ended a three-game swing through Canada for the Sabres, who lost 7-2 in Edmonton on Monday and beat Calgary 3-2 in overtime on Wednesday.UP NEXTSabres: Off until after the All-Star break.Canucks: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.