In the first round of the playoffs, the Capitals faced their old rivals from 1992 and 1994, the Pittsburgh Penguins. Washington had defeated Pittsburgh had eliminated Pittsburgh from the first round one year earlier and were hoping to do the same in 1995. The series started out well for the Capitals, as they defeated the Penguins 5-4 in the opening game. In game 2, Washington held a 3-1 lead after two periods, but Pittsburgh scored four times in the thirs period to win 5-3 and tie the series at 1-1. Washington won games 3 and 4 at home by identical scores of 6-2. The two teams skated to a 5-5 tie in game 5. Just 4 minutes and 30 seconds into the first overtime period, Luc Robitaille scored his 4th of the playoffs to keep the Penguins alive in the series. Peter Bondra, Dale Hunter, Jaromir