WASHINGTON (AP) Jakub Vrana came to the rink expecting to play on the Capitals‘ third line again. He left as a top-liner on top of the world.Vrana made the most of his promotion to the top line alongside Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov Nathan MacKinnon Jersey , setting up the tying goal and scoring the Game 5 winner as Washington beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3 Saturday night to take a 3-2 lead in the second-round series and put the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champions on the brink of elimination.After replacing an ineffective Devante Smith-Pelly on the top line, the 22-year-old rookie sprung Kuznetsov on the breakaway that tied the score early in the third period and took a pass from Ovechkin and scored the go-ahead goal with 4:38 left to send a fired-up crowd into a frenzy. Vrana made Barry Trotz look like a genius for bumping him up the lineup but wasn’t expecting to be his coach’s plan B.”That’s just how the game rolls,” said Vrana, who also assisted on Brett Connolly’s first-period goal to give him three points. ”Sometimes you’re gonna make changes. Today we did. We were all ready. I felt comfortable out there. Ready for next game.”That next game, Monday night in Pittsburgh, is the Capitals’ chance to advance to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in the Ovechkin era and for the first time overall since 1998 when they lost in the Cup Final. They may have to do it without star center Nicklas Backstrom, who left in the third period with an upper-body injury that Trotz said the team will have more information on Sunday.With Backstrom unable to play the final 13 minutes, Lars Eller double-shifted and Vrana looked like a perfect fit with Ovechkin and Kuznetsov. The Capitals are on the verge of beating Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins for the first time in four playoff series dating to 2009 on the strength of top-end scoring and goaltending from Braden Holtby, who stopped 36 of the 39 shots he faced.”Obviously Holts right now playing unbelievable,” Ovechkin said. ”He’s a big wall over there. When he play like that, it give us confidence.”Confidence isn’t lacking on either side. The Capitals hope they can build off an emotional victory, and the Penguins will try to win their fourth consecutive Game 6 after falling behind 3-2 in a series.”Your desperation level is a little higher,” said Crosby, who scored his ninth goal of the playoffs. ”You’re aware of the situation, and that brings out the best in everybody. We knew it was going to be a tight series. We need to make sure we leave it all out there, give ourselves a chance to get back here.”The Capitals ensured at least one more home game this postseason with goals by John Carlson and Connolly 33 seconds apart in the first period and a rebound effort in the third after being outshot 18-5 in the second. Pittsburgh got goals from Jamie Oleksiak at even strength and Crosby and Patric Hornqvist on the power play, often hanging goalie Matt Murray out to dry as he allowed four on 30 shots.Kuznetsov’s goal brought out his bird-flapping celebration and awakened a crowd that booed the Capitals at the end of the second period. Vrana’s goal was followed by deafening chants of ”Lets’ Go Caps!” at the next timeout, among the loudest in the building over Washington’s decade-long run of contention.”Tonight was one of those games where we needed to earn it from our fans,” Holtby said. ”They probably think `Here we go again’ and we’re not thinking that. We’re thinking we’re pushing forward, we’re focusing on the moment and hopefully we gave them belief with that third period because this group in here believes in ourselves.”NOTES: T.J. Oshie and Eller each scored an empty-netter in the final minutes to ice it. … Trotz said Carlson was being evaluated after taking a high hit from Jake Guentzel late in the third period. … The goals 33 seconds apart by Carlson and Connolly were the second-fastest in Capitals playoff history behind Craig Laughlin and Dave Christian (32 seconds) in 1984. … Crosby took sole possession of second place on the Penguins’ all-time playoff goals list with his 66th, breaking a tie with Jaromir Jagr. Crosby is 10 shy of Mario Lemieux for the most in franchise history. … Carlson is 36th defenseman in history and third active with 10-plus power-play points in the playoffs. No defenseman has reached 11 power-play points in the postseason since Nicklas Lidstrom and Sergei Gonchar in 2009.— ST. PAUL Authentic Alexander Wennberg Jersey , Minn. (AP) Matt Dumba and the Minnesota Wild started a defining two-game stretch against the Dallas Stars with a determined performance.They’re one step closer to a spot in the playoffs.”That was what fueled the fire, just wanting to bury these guys,” Dumba said. ”Not let them think that they could potentially get back into this thing by getting a couple victories against us.”Dumba scored on a power play and finished with three assists for a career-high four points, leading the Wild past the fading Stars 5-2 on Thursday night.”It’s something we talked about, making that gap even bigger and pushing more teams down,” said Zach Parise, who scored 59 seconds after Dumba in the second period and tacked on an empty-netter in the waning seconds.Mikael Granlund sparked the Wild with a short-handed goal in the first period , set up by the first of two assists by Ryan Suter, and Jason Zucker scored on a power play with 11 seconds left before the second intermission.Even more important than Granlund’s goal was the effort by the Wild that immediately followed it.Tyler Seguin had set up Benn in the slot for the lead for the Stars less than three minutes into the game, and a high-stick double-minor penalty on Wild defenseman Ryan Murphy produced a four-minute power play. Granlund scored just 12 seconds in, and the Wild penalty killers took over from there.”It was a big turning point, and it gave us a lot of life,” coach Bruce Boudreau said.Jamie Benn and Devin Shore scored for the Stars, who have lost eight straight road games, including six in regulation. They’re just 1-7-2 in their past 10 games overall, staggering into position for the knockout punch to their postseason hope. They host a rematch with the Wild on Saturday night.With only four games remaining, the Stars are five points behind current wild-card spot holders St. Louis and Anaheim in the Western Conference standings. The Blues have six games left, and the Ducks play five more times. The Stars also trail ninth-place Colorado by four points, with five games to go for the Avalanche.”Every mistake we made ended up in our net, and the chances we had we didn’t finish on,” Stars coach Ken Hitchcock said, adding: ”We’re going to compete at a very high level http://www.sabresshoponline.com/authentic-ryan-o_reilly-jersey , and then the autopsy for us can take place.”Devan Dubnyk stopped 29 shots for the Wild, who improved to 26-6-8 at home for the second-most points in the NHL. With five games to go, they’re up six points on the Avalanche in the race to clinch an appearance in the playoffs for the sixth straight year.Dumba, who set a career high with his 12th goal on a blistering one-timer , and Zucker gave the Wild’s power play a badly needed boost. They had only one goal in their previous 26 opportunities until the sizzling second period. The Stars, meanwhile, were left shaking their heads about the opportunities they handed the Wild.”I had a bonehead shot there on the penalty kill,” Seguin said, referring to the sequence before Zucker scored. ”I can’t shoot far-side short-handed, and they go down and score. That’s a tough play.”NOTESDumba became the first Wild defenseman with four points in a game in franchise history. … Wild defenseman Jared Spurgeon, who has missed the past seven games with a torn right hamstring, could start skating next week, Boudreau said before the game. Wild defenseman Gustav Olofsson left with an upper-body injury and was declared questionable to travel to Dallas. … The Stars fell to 2-23-2 when trailing after two periods. … Suter stretched his career high and franchise record to 45 assists. … Stars defenseman Stephen Johns was being evaluated for a concussion after leaving in the first period with the injury. … Zucker has three goals and two assists in three games against the Stars this season. … Granlund’s was the 10th short-handed goal allowed by the Stars to match the second-most in the league this season. … Granlund scored for the first time in 15 games since Feb. 27. … Seguin has 27 points in 23 games against the Wild. … Announced attendance was 19,350, the largest of the season for the Wild.UP NEXTStars: After the rematch with Minnesota, Dallas must wrap up the schedule on the West Coast with games at San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles.Wild: Following the quick trip to Dallas, Minnesota plays its final regular-season home game on Monday against Edmonton. Then the Wild finish the schedule with the same three California road games the Stars have, against the Ducks, Kings and Sharks.—