Desperation was new to the Washington Capitals locker room, the fear of summer starting having always seemed distant to a team with the best record throughout the regular season. The players were curious about to how they'd respond to this kind of pressure, but coach Barry Trotz already knew the answer.

“Coming to the rink, I said to our coaches, ‘We're winning today, there's no question,'?” Trotz said.

The fulfillment of Trotz's prediction came in the form of a potent power play, a clutch goalie and a few fortunate bounces — elements that combined to spark a 3-1 win at Verizon Center over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5 of this second-round playoff series, extending the Capitals' season for at least one more game.

Game 6 is Tuesday in Pittsburgh, with the Penguins still holding a 3-2 lead. 

“After practice, we just talked about it, and we just said that we're really, really tight, and no one wants to be finished playing right now,” defenseman Karl Alzner said.

After three straight losses to the Penguins, the Capitals were suddenly just one defeat away from another second-round playoff exit. But the Capitals were confident, mostly happy with how they'd played the past two games in Pittsburgh. One constant was that they'd struggled to get shots past Penguins goaltender Matt Murray, and the power play had looked anemic. Entering Saturday night's game, Washington had scored just one power-play goal in 12 chances against Pittsburgh.

On Friday, Evgeny Kuznetsov predicted that if the team could just get one power-play goal, the floodgates would open. Washington got its first crack at that when Alex Ovechkin plowed toward the net, drawing a hooking penalty by Bryan Rust less than four minutes into the game. The Capitals' first shot on goal was Ovechkin's blast into the top of the netting, his signature one-timer from the left faceoff circle setup by Nicklas Backstrom. 

“They did a good job shutting us down,” T.J. Oshie said. “They bring a lot of pressure, so as long as we stay ahead of their pressure, we're going to get chances, we're going to get opportunities.”

Pittsburgh's man-advantage threatened to steal momentum. An interference penalty on Backstrom in the offensive zone 5:47 into the game gave the Penguins life. A shot by Phil Kessel dribbled down the side of goaltender Braden Holtby's pad, and Chris Kunitz punched it past the goaltender to draw the Penguins even. 

Ovechkin set up the Capital next score in the second period. His shot ricocheted off Murray's pad, and a desperation swat by Oshie in the slot made it 2-1.

Less than six minutes after Oshie's goal, Pittsburgh defenseman Brian Dumoulin's pass was intercepted by Justin Williams at the point. He shot in the high slot, the puck dribbling through Murray's legs.

Holtby made two of his best saves of the season near the end of the second period. His right pad denied a point-blank Patric Hornqvist wrister. Thirty seconds later, the Penguins got a two-on-one, and Holtby went into a full split to stop a Justin Schultz shot with his glove.

Sharks 5, Predators 1: Joe Pavelski scored two goals and host San Jose beat Nashville to take a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.

Blues 4, Stars 1: Robby Fabbri had a goal and assist, and Brian Elliott turned away a strong push in the third period as St.?Louis beat host Dallas for a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.