Capitals defeat Panthers in overtime in our NHL 20 simulation

You might as well call overtime Ovi time because for the second time in our NHL 20 simulations Alex Ovechkin won it for the Washington Capitals.

The Washington Capitals survived a late third period scare thanks to Alex Ovechkin‘s overtime heroics to win a 3-2 overtime game in Sunrise, Florida in our NHL 20 simulation. Just like NBC Sports Washington’s simulation, the Caps got the win.

The Capitals struck first at 16:57 on a goal from T.J. Oshie right in front of the net for his 25th of the season. Nick Jensen and Evgeny Kuznetsov had the helpers.

1-0 Washington was the score after the opening period and shots were even at seven while hits were even at four.

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The Caps overcame an interference minor by Alex Ovechkin at 3:17 to begin the second by killing off the penalty. Later on at 15:25 Richard Panik doubled the Caps lead to 2-0 with his 18th goal of the season. Kuznetsov and Ovechkin had the assists.

At 19:41 the Panthers got on the board with a goal from Keith Yandle. Through two periods the Panthers outshot the Caps 21-12 but hits were even at eight even though there was a nasty hit with Nick Jensen as the victim near the boards that nearly knocked him out of the game. The Caps led 2-1 after two.

The Caps tried to hold off the Panthers in a physical third period. Hits were even at 12 through 60 and Jensen would later win a fight over Colton Sceviour.

At 17:20 the Panthers tied things up with a goal from Jonathan Huberdeau. 2-2 would be the score after 60.

In overtime an Ovechkin shot from the office would prove to be the difference. Ovechkin’s goal came 54 seconds into the extra session off a pass from Kuznetsov. The virtual Ovechkin finished with 41 goals but in our hearts he had another 50-goal season.

The Caps were outshot 33-22 and hits were even at 12 although it seemed like the Caps were outhit throughout the game. Ilya Samsonov made 31 saves off of 33 shots he faced for a .939 save percentage.

The virtual Caps on NBCSW also got the win which was a 5-0 shutout from Braden Holtby. You can watch highlights from that one here.

That was fun watching the simulations play out and it made me want to start gaming more myself.

Look out for another post reviewing how the Caps finished out the regular season in the virtual world. Plus soon we’ll find out how they can do in the playoffs.