Nic Dowd lifts Capitals over Bruins in Game 1 of first-round playoff series

Anderson, entering for the Capitals in Game 1 to replace an injured Vitek Vanecek, did not look like Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy, or Jose Theodore. But the graybeard, six days shy of age 40, stopped 19 of 20 shots over the final 46:50 of regulation to send the Bruins and Capitals to overtime.

Anderson was an Ottawa Senator when he booted the Black and Gold from the 2017 playoffs in Bruce Cassidy’s first run as coach. He had not played a playoff game since that run to the Eastern Conference Finals, falling to third on the Capitals’ depth chart. When Vanecek hobbled off at 13:10 of the first period Saturday, after Jake DeBrusk tied the score at 1, Anderson was called on for his fifth game of the season.

The Capitals helped him, allowing 24 shots and killing 3 of 4 penalties through 60 minutes. They didn’t give up much danger in front of Anderson, and broke out for five rush attempts (per Natural Stat Trick). Tom Wilson scored on one of them, a 3 on 1 after Charlie McAvoy broke his stick in the first period.

At the other end, Tuukka Rask stopped 29 of 31 in regulation, turning back Lars Eller twice from the right circle with 5:08 left in the third.

DeBrusk, firing home a shot off the faceoff, and Nick Ritchie (power-play deflection) helped the Bruins keep pace on the scoreboard.

Some observations from the game:

▪ The major early story line developed at 13:10 of the first period, when the Bruins tied the game and the Capitals lost their starting netminder.

Off a faceoff win, DeBrusk slipped into the slot and snapped one past Vanecek. It was DeBrusk’s 15th playoff goal in 50 games (15-9—24). It hurt the Capitals double, since Vanecek, who was late to react to the screened shot, appeared to injure himself when he did a full pad split. Vanecek, after grabbing at his left leg, departed under his own power. He was ruled out with a lower-body injury.

▪ Anderson stopped 11 of his first 12 shots, letting a Ritchie deflection trickle past him at 16:38 of the second to tie it at 2.

▪ Boston fans remember Anderson for his time with the Senators. In 2017, he beat Bruce Cassidy’s first group of Bruins in the first round, going 4-2 with a 1.94 goals against average, .921 save percentage, and one shutout. With Anderson in net, Ottawa reached the Eastern Conference Finals.

Anderson was playing in his first playoff game since that run, and his fifth game of the season. His career playoff numbers to date: a .929 save percentage (second all-time among goalies with 30 or more playoff starts; Tim Thomas is first), 2.35 GAA and four shutouts in 46 games. The Capitals, in no danger of using an emergency backup, subbed minor leaguer Pheonix Copley as the backup goalie. NHL teams can dress as many goalies as they want during these playoffs.

▪ DeBrusk, who fired one of the game’s best chances over the net in the first period, also helped rebuff a 3 on 1 in the second period. His hard backcheck on John Carlson bothered the defenseman just enough to force his shot wide.

▪ The Bruins, who allowed two 3 on 1s and were out-chanced, 4-1, on the rush according to Natural Stat Trick, surrendered the first goal of this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs when Wilson scored at 6:22 of the first.

▪ Not many teams have success attacking Charlie McAvoy, but the success rate gets higher when a defenseman is without a stick. The Capitals opened the scoring after McAvoy’s CCM snapped in two at the right point. McAvoy couldn’t stop Wilson and T.J. Oshie from playing catch on a 3 on 2, Wilson zipping a far-side shot over Rask’s glove. It was the third shot he faced. Dowd forced him to make a tough glove save on the fourth. He stopped 21 shots through 40 minutes.

▪ Those rush chances were an issue, but like with Wilson’s goal, they weren’t always born of defensive breakdowns. Witness a wild sequence to finish the second: in the final 11 seconds, Marchand nearly beat Anderson from the high slot, and whiffed on the rebound. The carom gave Washington a 3 on 1, and Lars Eller’s heavy shot went through Rask’s glove and off the crossbar.

▪ The Bruins were 1 for 3 on the power play through 40 minutes, presenting little danger overall. But Ritchie, putting his 230 pounds in Anderson’s kitchen, tied the score by deflecting home a David Pastrnak shot barely over the line. Uncredited assist to Craig Smith, who forced Anderson to cough up a rebound, and whacked at the puck about six times to keep the puck alive before the PPG.

▪ The Capitals came out pounding. David Krejci took a pair of thumps on his opening shift, Brenden Dillon blowing him up and Alex Ovechkin bowling him over. They led the hit count, 31-30, after two periods, with all but two players landing one. Meanwhile, Chris Wagner (six), Jeremy Lauzon (five), and Taylor Hall (four) combined for the bulk of Boston’s hits.

▪ One odd sequence in the second: Anderson had a hand in slowing down the power play without making a save. After Chara bumped his netminder, the veteran spread his arms and floated backward into the net, taking it off its moorings and forcing officials to blow the play down.

▪ Taylor Hall drew a pair of penalties, and has four in his last two games.

▪ The Bruins’ opening goal was scored off a faceoff win. The Bruins won 21 of 26 draws in the first (81 percent).

▪ The Capitals went up, 2-1, with third-pair blueliner Jeremy Lauzon taking a pair of losses in a battle with Ovechkin. The Washington captain was initially given credit for his 70th career playoff goal at 8:44 of the second, shrugging off Lauzon’s rough stuff in the slot. It was Lauzon, not Ovechkin, who appeared to tip Dillon’s tumbling one-hopper from the point over Tuukka Rask’s shoulder. Dillon was eventually given credit for the goal. The Bruins had to kill a penalty moments later; Lauzon got called for retaliatory cross-checks on Ovechkin, who had cross-checked Kevan Miller into the boards. Did Ovechkin deserve a penalty? Maybe. Did Lauzon? Definitely.

▪ Early in the third, Lauzon left for the dressing room with an apparent right hand injury. Lauzon had surgery in February to repair a broken left hand. He quickly returned.

Matt Porter can be reached at matthew.porter@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyports.