The Washington Capitals have beaten the New York Rangers by a score of 1-0 at the Verizon Center in Washington D.C., taking a 2-1 series lead.
Some exceptional play was exhibited by New York, but they were unable to be exceptional against Washington's goaltender Holtby in their 30 shots. The only Washington goal and the only goal of the game was a fluke; the puck hit Keith Yandle’s skate and slid by Henrik Lundqvist. The goal was credited to Jay Beagle, assisted by Andre Burakovsky and Troy Brouwer. But even with that being said, a fluke goal would determine the outcome of this game, because no one else was getting anything past Holby or Lundqvist.
In the postgame press conference, both Alain Vigneault and Marty St. Louis expressed the same sentiments:
"They’re a good team and they’re making it challenging for us, no doubt,” said Vigneault.
"We’re going to stay even-keeled in here and get ready for game four. We played a good game," said St. Louis.
The next game in the series is on Wednesday night at the Verizon Center where the Rangers look to tie the series up again while the Caps look to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.