Joel Ward wanted a chance at redemption, because the shot he put off the left post midway through the third period Thursday was beginning to haunt him. Ward got it, and he delivered in one of the most dramatic ways possible. Ward scored with 1.3 seconds left in the third period to give the Capitals a 2-1 win against the Rangers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Jesper Fast scored the tying goal less than six minutes after Ward hit the post, but the Capitals practiced what they have preached all season and continued playing hard and physical until the final whistle. Ovechkin got the puck in front of the net to Ward, who was unchecked in the slot and was able to put the puck through the legs of Henrik Lundqvist. Nicklas Backstrom jarred the puck free with a hard hit on Dan Boyle in the corner as Boyle was trying to freeze it until the buzzer sounded to end the period. Boyle fell in the corner and appeared to be injured after getting hit by Backstrom. Vigneault was screaming from the bench after the hit and goal, and Tanner Glass slashed and cross-checked Curtis Glencross off the faceoff, which was a puck drop that ended the game. That led to a skirmish which resulted in roughing minors for Glass and Tom Wilson. New York lost Games 1 and 2 against Washington in the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs but won the series in seven games. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby made 31 saves, 29 before he was beaten by Fast after a long shot by Kevin Hayes with 4:39 left in the third period. It was Fast's first Stanley Cup Playoff goal. Washington took a 1-0 lead on Ovechkin's power-play goal at 18:13 of the first period. It was a shot off the rush that went in and out of the net about as quickly as he got it off. It was Ovechkin's first power-play goal of the playoffs after he scored 25 in the regular season. Ovechkin received the puck on the left side of the neutral zone from John Carlson and skated in on Boyle, who was backing up. Ovechkin got to the top of the left circle, where he fired a hard, heavy wrist shot that went into the top left corner of the net. Washington killed two New York power plays to stay perfect in the playoffs, 16-for-16 in eight games.
Game 2 - Washington @ NY Rangers 2-3 - Sat, May 2 - Series Tied 1-1
Chris Kreider and Dan Boyle sparked a fast start, and Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves to help the Rangers even their Eastern Conference Second Round series with a 3-2 win against the Capitals in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden. Derick Brassard scored in the third period for the Rangers, who responded after losing the series opener when Joel Ward scored with 1.3 seconds left Thursday. Each of New York's five wins in the Stanley Cup Playoffs have been decided by one goal. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin scored, and Braden Holtby made 32 saves for the Capitals. The Rangers got off to the start they needed when Kreider scored 38 seconds into the game. Kevin Klein sent a long clear down the ice that Holtby had to kick away with his right pad. Derek Stepan collected the puck at the left circle and fed Jesper Fast, whose shot was denied. But Kreider was right in front of the net and put the rebound past Holtby to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. It was Kreider's second goal of the playoffs. Lundqvist made his first big save of the game about 4:30 into the first period when he dove across his crease to deny Ovechkin, who was left alone in front but didn't elevate his wrist shot enough to get it over the Rangers goaltender. New York ended the Washington's penalty-kill streak at 17 when Dan Boyle scored a power-play goal with 4:20 left in the first period. After Ward was whistled for hooking, Troy Brouwer's clearing attempt from behind the net died before crossing the blue line. Boyle retrieved the puck and his shot from the left point found its way through a crowd and past Holtby to make it 2-0. New York outshot Washington 15-4 in the first period. The Capitals played a more determined game in the second. Lundqvist made his best save with 8:44 remaining when he slid across his crease and robbed Kuznetsov from point-blank range by getting his blocker on a wrist shot after a nice cross-ice feed from Ovechkin. Washington finally solved Lundqvist with 6:01 left in the second period on Kuznetsov's fourth goal of the playoffs. Kuznetsov dumped the puck from the red line and it bounced off the end boards out to Jason Chimera, whose shot was denied by Lundqvist. But Kuznetsov beat Boyle to the rebound and put it past Lundqvist to make it 2-1. Holtby kept it a one-goal game with back-to-back saves against Rick Nash and Brassard in the final minute of the second, denying Nash's wrist shot from the slot then keeping Brassard's rebound attempt out with his left skate. The Capitals outshot the Rangers 16-12 in the second period. Brassard gave New York a 3-1 lead with 13:53 remaining with his fourth goal of the playoffs. Moments after Brassard finished serving an interference penalty, Martin St. Louis took a pass from Nash, turned around at the Capitals blue line and sent a pass toward the net, where Brassard was alone. His shot squeaked between Holtby's skates to make it 3-1. Ovechkin got the Capitals within 3-2 with a highlight-reel goal at 10:29 of the third. He took a pass from Ward, split Rangers defensemen Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi and managed to put a wrist shot past Lundqvist while falling down. Ovechkin has six goals and five assists in 14 playoff games at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers recalled Ryan Bourque from Hartford of the American Hockey League prior to the game. He had one assist in five AHL playoff games. Bourque participated in warm-ups but did not play.
Game 3 - NY Rangers @ Washington 0-1 - Mon, May 4 - Caps Lead 2-1
Barry Trotz said the Capitals were in need of some new heroes if they wanted to take control of the Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Rangers. Trotz got his wish, but it also took a tried-and-true hero for the Capitals to squeeze out a 1-0 victory in Game 3 at Verizon Center and take a 2-1 series lead. Jay Beagle, who had been snakebit throughout Washington's first nine games of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, scored the game's only goal to emerge as the unexpected hero. He was joined, however, by goalie Braden Holtby, who has been the glue that has held the Capitals together this postseason. Holtby made 30 saves to allow Beagle's second-period goal to stand up as the game-winner. It was Holtby's first shutout this postseason and the second of his Stanley Cup Playoff career. The first came two years ago, to the day, also against the Rangers. The Capitals maintained the home-ice advantage they earned with a split of the first two games at Madison Square Garden. Holtby's heroics have become the norm for the Capitals through a season that has served as his coming-out party. If anything, he has been better in the postseason. In three games against the Rangers, Holtby has allowed four goals, making saves on 63 of 67 shots for a .940 save percentage. In nine playoff games, he has a 1.54 goals-against average and .949 save percentage. Holtby held the fort for the first 27 minutes while New York carried the play for long stretches, allowing Washington to regroup and hunt down the bounce it desperately needed. The Capitals took more than six minutes to get their first shot of the game against Henrik Lundqvist, and then exactly six minutes to get their first shot of the second period. On the sequence that led to the winning goal, the Capitals won a faceoff after committing an icing and were able to gain the center line before dumping the puck in. Troy Brouwer went in deep as the first forechecker to occupy the defenders and protect Washington as it changed lines. Brouwer was joined first by Andre Burakovsky and then by Beagle. Brouwer made a short pass to Burakovsky, who fed the puck to Beagle striding into the slot. Beagle's shot was a bit wide, but Beagle beat the Rangers to the puck and circled behind the net before banking the puck off the skates of Keith Yandle and Lundqvist and into the short side of the net. The goal was Beagle's first in 14 playoff games, dating to May 6, 2013, against the Rangers. Lundqvist was nearly as good as Holtby, getting beat on one pinball shot and making 21 saves. New York, which won Game 2 thanks in part to a strong start, was the stronger team in the early going again. The Rangers had 11 shots in the first period despite being shorthanded for four minutes, and they were outshooting the Capitals at the time of Beagle's goal. Though the Rangers carried play for stretches throughout the game, they could not solve Holtby despite several quality chances. Holtby was especially solid in the final two minutes of the game when the Rangers pressed for the equalizer. The Capitals iced the puck several times, but could not alleviate the pressure. Instead, they relied on Holtby to bail them out. Holtby made saves on seven of Nash's 15 shot attempts in Game 3.
Game 4 - NY Rangers @ Washington 1-2 - Wed, May 6 - Caps Lead 3-1
Rookie forward Andre Burakovsky had a night to remember for the Capitals and, as a result, the Rangers had one they would rather forget. Burakovsky scored his first two Stanley Cup Playoff goals, giving the Capitals a come-from-behind 2-1 win in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Verizon Center.
It worked out well enough to be the difference in another taut game between these rivals from the Metropolitan Division and to hand the Rangers back-to-back losses for the first time this postseason. New York, which won the Presidents' Trophy, is on the brink of elimination in this best-of-7 series, trailing 3-1. Last season, New York trailed the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-1 before winning its second-round series on the way to the Stanley Cup Final. Each of New York's nine playoff games has been decided by one goal, and the inability of the usually high-scoring Rangers to generate goals has been the most telling factor.
They have two goals in three losses this series after eliminating the Penguins in the first round. Braden Holtby made 28 saves and denied Carl Hagelin on a penalty shot with a glove save 8:01 into the third period with the Capitals holding a one-goal lead. Burakovsky, 20, was inserted into the lineup after Eric Fehr sustained an injury in Game 3 of the seven-game Eastern Conference First Round series against the Islanders. He has paid huge dividends for the faith placed in him and, on Wednesday, delivered two acts of brilliance that may have irrevocably altered this series. He tied the game 1-1 with 3:31 left in the second period when he created a turnover along the wall on the forecheck, cut to the middle, and found a lane to take a shot that ticked off the shoulder of Henrik Lundqvist and went under the crossbar. The game-winner came 24 seconds into the third period. This time, linemate Troy Brouwer created the turnover and Burakovsky eluded the backcheck of Ryan McDonagh before beating Lundqvist to the glove side with a backhand. The Rangers allowed each goal after a turnover, a continuing storyline of the series. New York is having a hard time dealing with the pressure of the Washington forecheckers, who appear to wear down the Rangers as the game goes along. Derick Brassard scored the Rangers' goal 6:12 into the second period, his fifth of the playoffs. It broke Holtby's shutout streak at 100:05 and gave New York its first lead since the third period of a 3-2, Game 2 win. Brassard has scored five of the Rangers' 16 goals this postseason. Lundqvist, who has allowed seven goals in four games, started his 100th straight playoff game for the Rangers. Two goalies in NHL history have started more consecutive games for a single team: Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils (194) and Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche (133).
Game 5 - Washington @ NY Rangers 1-2 OT - Fri, May 8 - Caps Lead 3-2
The Rangers needed more than 58 minutes to solve Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby. It saved their season when they finally did, and captain Ryan McDonagh extended it. McDonagh scored 9:37 into overtime, and the Rangers rallied for a 2-1 win in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Madison Square Garden. McDonagh, who had one goal through the first nine games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, took a pass from Derek Stepan and beat Holtby with a wrist shot from between the circles. Holtby made 41 saves for Washington and was on the verge of a shutout until Chris Kreider scored with 1:41 remaining in the third period to tie the game 1-1. The Capitals are 3-9 when they have a chance to win a series since the 2010 playoffs. Henrik Lundqvist made 28 saves for the Rangers. He entered 11-3 with a 1.36 goals-against average, a .957 save percentage and two shutouts when the Rangers faced elimination since 2012. New York is an NHL-record 9-0 when facing elimination at home since Game 4 of the second round in 2008. Curtis Glencross gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 10:54 of the third period on a breakaway. Moments after a terrific defensive play by Tom Wilson against Kevin Klein inside Washington's blue line, Matt Niskanen sent Glencross in alone. Lundqvist denied Glencross on a wrist shot, but Glencross backhanded the rebound over the goal line for his first point in nine games this postseason. With the Rangers' season on the line, Kreider tied the game at 18:19 of the third period. While Lundqvist was skating to the bench for an extra attacker, Stepan sent a drop pass to Kreider, who solved Holtby from outside the left faceoff circle. It was Kreider's third goal of the playoffs. Holtby kept the game 0-0 five minutes into the first period with a save against Martin St. Louis. With the teams at even strength, Rick Nash turned around and sent a shot toward the net from the left wing that went to St. Louis, who appeared to have an easy tap-in. But Holtby stretched across the crease and managed to get his left skate on the shot. After outshooting Washington 12-2 before nine minutes passed, New York held a 16-13 edge after the first period. Derick Brassard had an opportunity to score 3:10 into the second period. Tanner Glass put a wrist shot on net from the right circle that Holtby denied, but the rebound caromed out to Brassard, who appeared to have an open net, but Mike Green made a diving play to redirect Brassard's shot wide. St. Louis then had a chance with 12:52 left in the second when Holtby made a glove save on a wrist shot from point-blank range. Washington thought they scored with 2:09 left in the second when Niskanen took a pass from Nicklas Backstrom and let go a slap shot from the point that got past Lundqvist, but it was ruled the Rangers goaltender was interfered with by Joel Ward. The Rangers outshot the Capitals 12-5 in the second period. New York went 0-for-2 on the power play. Washington's penalty kill is 24-for-25 this postseason. Dating to last season's Stanley Cup Final, each of the Rangers' past 12 playoff games has been decided by one goal. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, New York's streak of one-goal games in the playoffs is the longest in the NHL's modern era. In the playoffs, 15 of the Rangers' past 16 games, 17 of their past 19, and 18 of their past 22 have been decided by one goal.
Game 6 - NY Rangers @ Washington 4-3 - Sun, May 10 - Series Tied 3-3
For the second straight year, the New Rangers have rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the Eastern Conference Second Round to force a Game 7, this time defeating the Capitals 4-3 in Game 6 at Verizon Center to even the best-of-7 series at 3-3. Henrik Lundqvist finished with 42 saves and Chris Kreider scored two goals in the first period, including a power-play goal with 0.3 seconds remaining, to give New York a 2-0 lead. Rick Nash and Dan Boyle scored early in the third period to give the Rangers a 4-1 lead that they needed because of Washington's late push. The Capitals outshot the Rangers 45-28, including 28-8 in the final two periods, and cut the deficit to 4-3 with 9:27 remaining. The Rangers came back from a 3-1 deficit in the second round last year against the Pittsburgh Penguins before winning Game 7 at Consol Energy Center on May 13. New York also defeated Washington 5-0 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on May 13, 2013. The Rangers have won five consecutive Game 7s since the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Ottawa Senators. They are 13-3 in their last 16 games when facing elimination, including 7-1 under coach Alain Vigneault. The Capitals like their chances if they play the way they played in the final 40 minutes. Washington dominated the second period, outshooting New York 18-4, but only had Jason Chimera's goal at 28 seconds to show for it. The Rangers came out strong in the third and got a goal from Nash 54 seconds into the period and from Boyle at 4:24, but Washington rallied again, scoring twice to cut the deficit to 4-3 with 9:27 left. Lundqvist saved the final four shots he faced and the Rangers killed off a power play that started at 17:16. The Capitals offense came from a revamped second line of Evgeny Kuznetsov, Joel Ward and Chimera. Washington coach Barry Trotz put them together at the start of the second period and they accounted for three goals on 15 shots. Kuznetsov cut the Rangers lead to 4-2 at 7:40 of the third period and Ward made it 4-3 at 10:33. Ward had one of the assists on Kuznetsov's goals. Chimera had one of the assists on Ward's goal. Kuznetsov and Ward had the assist on Chimera's goal in the second period. The Capitals had a power play with 2:44 remaining in the third period after James Sheppard shot the puck over the glass for a delay of game. Washington made it a 6-on-4 advantage by pulling Holtby (24 saves) for an extra skater with 1:40 remaining. Trotz used his timeout with 1:17 remaining and 33 seconds left on the power play. Washington had one shot on goal during the power play and didn't get another in the rest of the game. Washington was 0-for-4 on the power play in Game 6 and is 0-for-10 in the past five games. The Rangers haven't lost a Game 7 since Washington defeated them at Verizon Center in the 2009 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, going 5-0 since then. The Capitals won Game 7 against the New York Islanders in the first round.
Game 7 - Washington @ NY Rangers 1-2 OT - Wed, May 13 - Caps Lose 4-3
Derek Stepan scored 11:24 into overtime to give the Rangers a 2-1 win against the Capitals in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers, who trailed the best-of-7 series 3-1, will play the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final. After an icing, the Rangers won the faceoff, and Dan Girardi's shot from the point bounced to Stepan at the left side of the net, where he quickly put a wrist shot past Capitals goalie Braden Holtby for his third goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Not since Stephane Matteau's goal against the New Jersey Devils in the 1994 Eastern Conference Final had the Rangers played overtime in Game 7. Matteau was in attendance. Kevin Hayes scored the tying goal, and Lundqvist made 35 saves for New York, which is 7-0 in Game 7 at home and has won 10 straight home games when facing elimination since 2008, the longest streak in NHL history. The Rangers became the first team to win a best-of-7 series after trailing 3-1 two years in a row; they eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round last year on the way to the Stanley Cup Final. Alex Ovechkin, who said the Capitals would win Game 7, scored for Washington. Holtby made 37 saves.
The Capitals have been eliminated by the Rangers in three of the past four seasons (2012, 2013, 2015), with each series going the distance. Ovechkin scored his fifth goal of the playoffs 12:50 into the first period to give Washington a 1-0 lead. After each team failed to score on a power play, Ovechkin took a cross-ice feed from Marcus Johansson and put a wrist shot from between the circles past Lundqvist. Capitals coach Barry Trotz said he was proud of his leaders, especially Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green, who have been the core of a group that hasn't been able to reach a conference final. Hayes tied it 1-1 at 6:22 of the second period on the Rangers' fourth power play. After Green was penalized for the second time in a 3:39 span, Hayes took a pass from J.T. Miller and poked it past Holtby. Not since Muzz Patrick in 1939 had a Rangers rookie scored in Game 7, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Washington has qualified for the playoffs in seven of the past eight seasons but has lost in the first round three times and the second round four times. Since 2010, the Capitals are 3-11 with a chance to win a series. The Capitals were less than two minutes away from winning this series in five games before Chris Kreider scored with 1:41 left to tie that game. Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh scored in overtime for a 2-1 victory. Dan Boyle left Game 7 midway through the third period after being hit by Brooks Orpik near Washington's blue line. New York coach Alain Vigneault said he hopes to know more about Boyle's condition on Thursday. New York has home-ice advantage against Tampa Bay, which ended its second-round series against the Montreal Canadiens in Game 6 on Tuesday. The Rangers went 0-3-0 against the Lightning during the regular season. Tampa Bay outscored New York 15-7, but they haven't played each other since Dec. 1 when the Lightning won 6-3 at Madison Square Garden.
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