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AP Hockey Writer
PHILADELPHIA -- T.J. Oshie shot the puck into an empty net and, in the process, scored one of the more improbable game-winning goals in recent NHL history and sent the Washington Capitals to the playoffs.
Oshie's empty-net goal with 3 minutes left helped the exhausted Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 on Tuesday night under absurd circumstances. The score was tied when Philadelphia coach John Tortorella pulled his goaltender for an extra attacker because his team needed to win in regulation to keep its hopes alive.
What Tortorella didn't know was that Detroit scoring with 3.3 seconds remaining to force to overtime at Montreal perhaps a minute earlier actually eliminated the Flyers.
"We'll take it," Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin said. "Thanks, Philly."
Tortorella found out just after Oshie's empty-netter about the Red Wings result. By then, it was too late, and the result also eliminated Detroit and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Washington will face the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers in the first round beginning this weekend, returning to the playoffs after a one-year absence ended their eight-year streak.
"It means a lot," said Oshie, one of a handful of players remaining from the Capitals' 2018 Stanley Cup team, along with Ovechkin, John Carlson and Tom Wilson.