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Playoff Overtime: The Washington Capitals' Long-Time Best Friend

Look up overtime in the dictionary and there you will find the Washington Capitals. Overtime seems to be the norm when it comes to the Caps in the playoffs.
Credit: Kirk Irwin
COLUMBUS, OH - APRIL 17: Nicklas Backstrom #19 of the Washington Capitals lines up for face-off in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round during 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Columbus Blue Jackets. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (WUSA) — Look up overtime in the dictionary and there you will find the Washington Capitals.

Overtime seems to be the norm when it comes to the Caps in the playoffs.

Four of the first five games in this first-round series have demanded overtime.

The only exception being Washington’s strangely comfortable 4-1 win in Game 4 on Thursday in Columbus.

As NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti noted Sunday, the Capitals are the first team in NHL history to play a combined nine overtime games in the first round of consecutive postseasons.

Since Alex Ovechkin’s rookie season in 2005-06, 35 of Washington’s 102 postseason games (34.3 percent) have gone to overtime.

Only Toronto, Florida, Colorado and Columbus have played a greater percentage of playoff overtime games during that span.

Five of Toronto’s seven playoff overtime games since 2005-06 came in last year’s first-round series against the Capitals.

And that's also when the metro would close before the Caps' extra minutes came to a close...only in D.C. does that happen.

The Capitals are the first team in NHL franchise history to play a combined nine OT games in the opening round of back-to-back postseasons.

Should we expect overtime in Game 6? I'd bet on it.

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