The New York Rangers have beaten the Washington Capitals by a score of 2-1 in overtime at Madison Square Garden. With the win the Rangers force game 6 on Sunday, Mother’s Day at the Verizon Center in Washington. The win makes the series 3-2 in favor of the Capitals. Prior to the game the Rangers held a moment of silence for the recently deceased police officer, Brian Moore.
For the first time, really all playoffs the Rangers were not a first period team, the Rangers got 16 shots in the first period to go along with the Capitals 13 shots. The second period would be much of the same, but the Caps appeared to score before the ref immediately called it no goal because Joel Ward of the Capitals was giving Lundqvist, a hug not allowing him to move back and save the puck. The goal scoring and action really started in the third period, after an atrocious play by Keith Yandle, Curtis Glencross came down on Henrik Lundqvist on the breakaway and put away a puck up in the air after the initial save. The Rangers did not lay down and die after this, they kept pushing and after Henrik Lundqvist went to the bench and screamed at his teammates, that according to Dave Maloney, with 1:41 left, as Henrik Lundqvist was skating to the bench for the extra attacker, Chris Kreider sniped it past Braden Holtby who was screened by Marty St.Louis and then got on one knee to celebrate while the Garden Crowd was erupting, Henrik Lundqvist lifted his arms in celebration mid stride when he saw at the other end of the ice Chris Kreider score. Derek Stepan and Keith Yandle got the assists on the game tying goal. That would be it for the 3rd period. Both teams got great chances to score in OT but with 10:28 left Jesper Fast skated into the Capitals zone, passed it to Derek Stepan who then left the puck on a silver platter for captain Ryan McDonagh who buried it past Braden Holtby to be the hero and send it to game 6. The Three Stars were from 1st to 3rd, Ryan McDonagh, Henrik Lunqvist and Braden Holtby. As a result, McDonagh got the Broadway hat and the Rangers puzzles were updated. According to Elias Sports Bureau the Rangers 9 game home winning streak in elimination games is an NHL record.
In these playoffs the Rangers improve to 3-0 in OT, with two wins in OT in the last series and this win, the Caps go to 1-1 in these playoffs. In the first period Mats Zuccarelo was shown on the big board in a suite and received a resounding “ZUCCCC” chant from the Garden Faithful. In the post game press conference head coach Alain Vigneault said, “We’re still breathing, and we are going to go into Washington on Sunday and give it our best shot. Sooner or later one of them was going to go in and it did.”