When Benoit Pouliot tied the game with 7:47 left in the third, Bruins fans assumed the locals would take a 2-0 series lead to Washington. The Garden rocked when Thomas flattened Backstrom with 2:26 left in regulation.

“I was trying to put the puck in the net,’’ Backstrom explained. “The puck was loose there. He maybe thought I was hitting his pads for no reason. I don’t know. It happens. It’s the playoffs.’’

In the spirit of playoff hockey and overtime hockey, the officials for the most part swallowed their whistles and let the Bruins and Capitals skate and hit with abandon. Washington coach Dale Hunter chose not to comment when asked if Thomas could have been slapped with a penalty on the Backstrom shove.

Ultimately, the Bruins didn’t put enough pressure on Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, who is doing a nice impersonation of Ken Dryden circa 1971. And the Bruins were caught flat-footed when the Capitals hustled after losing a faceoff in the third minute of the second OT.

“I just had time to yell, ‘Screen!’ and then I think I picked it up about halfway to me,’’ Thomas said. “But it was one of those knuckle [shots]. You can’t read on exactly where it’s going. I didn’t see it enough.’’

“We know Tim Thomas is a special goaltender,’’ said Hunter. “If he sees it, he’ll get it, so you have to get bodies in front of him.’’

Bruins coach Claude Julien on the Backstrom goal: “We won the draw, but they outmuscled us. We lost that battle and lost the game.’’

“This is better than starting off 0-2 [against Montreal] like we did last year,’’ said Thomas.

The goalie was not asked about shoving Backstrom, but when the Bruins hosted a town meeting at the Garden in September, he was asked about his hit on Sedin, and said, “It felt goooooood.’’