The victory gave Columbus a 1-0 lead in the series. Game 2 is set for Sunday in Washington.

Panarin raced up the left wing, worked his way past Dmitry Orlov and flicked a quick wrist shot past goalie Philipp Grubauer just under the crossbar for the game-winning goal. Ian Cole and Pierre-Luc Dubois got assists on the winning play.

Panarin finished with one goal and two assists, and Thomas Vanek added one goal and one assist.

For Washington, Evgeny Kuznetsov scored power-play goals just 29 seconds apart late in the first period, and John Carlson finished with three assists while Nicklas Backstrom added two.

The Capitals are trying to get past the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time in coach Barry Trotz's four seasons in Washington. In addition, the Capitals never have reached the Eastern Conference finals during the career of Alex Ovechkin.

In this game, Washington jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period thanks to the two goals from Kuznetsov. Both came thanks to a power play the Capitals received after Josh Anderson of Columbus received a five-minute major for boarding -- and also was ejected -- with 2:37 left in the opening period.

Kuznetsov scored the first goal just 29 seconds later, beating goalie Sergei Bobrovsky on a low shot from the left side.

Then, just 29 seconds after that goal, Kuznetsov made it 2-0 on a shot from the left circle. Backstrom and Carlson assisted on both goals.

But Columbus cut the lead to 2-1 at 4:48 of the second period when Alexander Wennberg redirected a cross-crease pass from Boone Jenner past Grubauer. The Blue Jackets then tied it on a power-play goal from Vanek 1:31 into the third period.

Devante Smith-Pelly gave Washington a 3-2 lead at 5:12 of the period. However, Columbus tied it on a Seth Jones power-play goal with 4:26 left in regulation.

--Field Level Media