Kevin Gorman's Take 5 on Game 6: Capitals 2, Penguins 1

The two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins were one loss from elimination from the playoffs and the Washington Capitals one victory away from their first Eastern Conference final since 1998.

It took overtime but the Capitals won, 2-1, to reverse their curse and ended the Penguins' quest for a Cup three-peat.

1. All for nothing: Where Washington was without two top-six forwards and caused Capitals coach Barry Trotz to shake up his lineup, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan left his alone.

Without first-line right wing Tom Wilson (suspension) and second-line center Nicklas Backstrom (upper body), the Capitals moved Chandler Stephenson to right wing on the first line, center Lars Eller to the second and inserted Travis Boyd to center the third line and Nathan Walker at left wing on the fourth.

That should have created mismatches for the Penguins, who had the last line change with home-ice advantage at PPG Paints Arena. But their sloppy stick-handling at the blue line led to them being outshot, 7-6, in a scoreless first period.

Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin didn't register a shot. Phil Kessel came up empty on a poke in the crease, Derick Brassard had a shot from the right circle stopped by Capitals goalie Braden Holtby and defensemen Jamie Oleksiak and Brian Dumoulin missed on slap shots from the left point.

The Penguins missed a perfect opportunity to take an early lead.

2. Net margin: Matt Murray had a pristine record when the Penguins trailed in a playoff series, going 6-0 with a .935 save percentage.

The pressure was on the Penguins goaltender, especially after Marc-Andre Fleury's shutout Sunday night clinched a trip to the Western Conference for the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.

Murray got a big break in the first period when T.J. Oshie hit the right post and Alex Ovechkin missed a power-play chance wide right from his favorite spot, the left circle.

But the Capitals scored first when Walker, the first Australian to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs, cycled behind the net and fed Alex Chiasson in the right circle. Chiasson slipped a shot between Murray and the right post for a 1-0 lead at 2 minutes, 13 seconds of the second.

3. Turnabout: Kris Letang went from Game 5 goat to Game 6 great.

Letang was the subject of strong criticism from Penguins fans following his defensive breakdowns on Evgeny Kuznetsov's game-tying goal and Jakub Vrana's winner in the third period of the Capitals' 6-3 victory Saturday night at Capital One Arena.

“I made a mistake, and that's it. It should not happen,” Letang said. “At the end of the day, if I don't make that mistake, it's anyone's game.”

Sullivan had a talk with Letang, reminding him how important he is to the Penguins and that it was about his response.

“I can't stay on a mistake or a bad game,” Letang said. “That's what we do. We turn the page and focus on the next one and try to be better.”

Not only did Letang accept blame, he put the Penguins on the board by blasting a slap shot from center point that ricocheted off Stephenson's stick to beat Holtby stick-side and tie the game at 1-1 at 11:52 of the second period.

And a crowd that had been lulled to sleep suddenly came alive.

4. Big saves:Both the Capitals and Penguins had chances to take the lead in the final two minutes of the second period.

But Murray went full butterfly to fluster Kuznetsov at the right post at 18:24, and Holtby made a major save to stop Justin Schultz from the slot after a beautiful backhand pass by Malkin in the final 10 seconds.

Meantime, the Capitals were clogging the middle and trying to their best to keep Crosby and Guentzel from putting a shot on the scoresheet.

The third period was more of the same, with a hold-your-breath moment in the final seconds when Vrana tried a backhand in the crease that Olli Maatta cleared.

This one would be decided in OT.

5. It's all over:Tom Kuhnhackl had yet to score in these playoffs, yet Riley Sheahan placed the puck on his stick at the right dot.

Kuhnhackl's shot ricocheted off the far post, drawing a gasp and a groan from the crowd.

The Capitals got the same reaction after Oshie fed John Carlson for a shot in the slot a minute later. But Ovechkin fed Kuznetsov, who drifted left to beat Murray for the winner at 5:27, giving the Capitals a victory.

And a long-awaited handshake.

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at kgorman@tribweb.com or via Twitter @KGorman_Trib.