This swap is eye-catching because Ovechkin had made a name -- and it's named the Ovie Spot -- setting up for the one-timer at the left circle on the power play.
"It was something the coaches wanted," revealed Barry Trotz. "We've done that in the past. Sometimes you want some movement. It forces the other team to make some coverage changes."
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, however, was firm that such a switch would not create confusion for the Vegas penalty kill -- Bellemare, by the way, was not on the ice.
"We knew at one point they were going to change something."
Oshie just mugs Deryk Engelland behind the net. Then, Oshie braces for a hit from Cody Eakin and hands off to Evgeny Kuznetsov. Predictably, Oshie brick walls Eakin. Eakin is down and out. The expressway from Kuznetsov to Carlson is wide-open.
"We tried to check at that time, which was the right play," said Bellemare of, I believe, Eakin, "[Oshie] looked like he didn't have the puck, but actually, he had full control. He made a good play and it opened up."
Pluses
"For 101 games, this team has shocked the world. What's three more?"
According to Gerard Gallant, Colin Miller had his nose broken by Oshie's elbow in the third period. However, the replay indicates that Miller actually ran into Oshie's helmet.