The Capitals’ Milan Lucic, left, and Jason Chimera with the Bruins’ Jean Morin. (Photo by slidingsideways)

Bruins 1, Capitals 0: The first game of the NHL playoffs went scoreless through three periods. But the battle of impermeable goalies didn’t last much longer than that, with Boston forward Chris Kelly slapping the puck past Braden Holtby just over a minute into overtime. Holtby, though, save the game’s lone goal, worked much more than his Bruins counterpart Tim Thomas, with the Capitals managing just 17 shots the entire game to Boston’s 30. Throughout the evening, the Caps struggled to get close to Thomas’ net, including just one shot during a power play that was made from 58 feet out. And Washington often found itself down a man; while the Capitals were able to beat back the Bruins’ four power plays, the efforts came at the expense of getting closer to the goal. “Overall, I thought we played well, though certainly we do need to score,” defenseman John Carlson told reporters after the game.

Nationals 3, Reds 2: We marveled at opening day’s improbable finish yesterday afternoon, but in case you missed it, click the link and enjoy the sight of the Nats winning on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 10th inning. Almost makes you forget the extra frame happened after Brad Lidge blew a two-run lead in the top of the ninth, spoiling a stellar home debut by Gio Gonzalez. We were a little skeptical when the Nationals announced in December they had landed the 26-year-old in a trade with the Oakland Athletics, given the Nats’ often disappointing transactional history. (See Werth, Jayson.) But chalk it up to the Post’s Thomas Boswell, who predicted success and—in Gonzalez’s first start at home—was proven right. This kid’s got good stuff, and the winning personality to back it up, Boswell writes today:

There’s one thing Gonzalez should never change: his personality. Asked why he was grinning with Reds players after his hit, he said, “I had never been on base. All you can do is smile.” When he reached second and third base, he practically hugged them. Gio, when will you round a bag? “Probably never,” he said.

Gonzalez’s line yesterday: Seven innings, two hits, seven strikeouts and no walks. Oh, and he even blooped a single for his first major-league hit: