Stanley Cup Playoffs : Capitals Come Back Again and Win in Overtime, 5-4

When Dale Hunter scored on a breakaway nearly six minutes into overtime Saturday night at Landover, Md., the Washington Capitals at long last escaped the tag of “chokers.”

The fourth career sudden-death goal for Hunter gave the Capitals a 5-4 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers and climaxed a series of comebacks.

They trailed in the series, 3-1, then rallied to win three games in a row and will play the surprising New Jersey Devils in another best-of-seven Patrick Division playoff series beginning Monday night at Landover.

In this game, they fell behind, 3-0, in the first 23 minutes and seemed a cinch loser because of the excellent goaltending of Ron Hextall. But they not only caught up, they forged ahead, 4-3, with 16 minutes left in the third period, only to have Flyer Brad Marsh tie the game just a minute later.

From then until Hunter finally beat him, Hextall was superb.

Booed for the last 30 minutes Thursday night by Philadelphia fans when he played poorly in Game 6 as the Capitals won, 7-2, Hextall kept the Flyers in this game. He was especially effective in overtime, making seven saves before Hunter finally scored.

It was quite a turnabout from the first round last year, when Washington took a 3-1 lead over the New York Islanders, then lost the series. The final game also went into overtime, lasting a record 68 minutes.

Although the Capitals still have to win 12 more games to take the Stanley Cup, the celebration at Capital Centre lasted more than a half-hour.