Alexander Ovechkin (r) beat Marc-Andre Fleury in the shootout, but it
was Mike Knuble’s surprising goal minutes later that sealed the two
points for Washington. Photo by Ghost_Bear.

Thanks to those of us who think hockey is the coolest thing since the Ice Age, Wednesday’s matchup — the NHL-best Washington Capitals against the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins — was in danger of being the most over-analyzed 60 minutes yet in 2010.

Then came the game-winner no one saw coming.

Down 2-0 in the shootout, Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin came up with back-to-back goals to even the tally. After Pittsburgh’s Chris Kunitz missed his chance, Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau decided his fourth-round shooter would be 14-year veteran Mike Knuble, a staple on the Caps top line who, nonetheless, had never scored a shootout goal in his NHL career.

Seconds later, Knuble had the game-winner, the Caps had a 4-3 victory, and the Penguins had the dissatisfaction of knowing they’re now 0-3 against the Caps this year with only one contest remaining between the NHL’s biggest rivals.

So what exactly led Boudreau to send out Knuble, whose bread and butter — gritty goals in the crease, one of which he scored in the first period of the game — is hardly the kind of skill that translates to the one-on-one style of the shootout?

It was a gut feeling.

“I just felt that he was going to score,” was all the explanation Boudreau gave after the game. “I had a feeling.”