Associated Press
Marian Gaborik scored at 14:41 of the third overtime, and the Rangers outlasted the Washington Capitals in a 2-1 victory early Thursday morning to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Brad Richards was near the backboards before sending a pass in front to Gaborik, who ended the marathon by sliding the puck between the pads of rookie goaltender Braden Holtby.
It was Gaborik's first goal since the Rangers' first playoff game against Ottawa, snapping an eight-game drought.
Henrik Lundqvist had 45 saves for New York. Holtby stopped 47 shots for the Capitals.
Early in the third overtime, Washington killed a New York power play to keep the suspense going.
The game started at 7:40 p.m. and stretched into the next day, ending at 12:14 a.m. Thursday. There will be a two-day break before the teams meet for Game 4 on Saturday in Washington.
It was yet another low scoring, extremely tight game for the Capitals. Nine of Washington's 10 playoff games have been decided by one goal; the exception was the Rangers' 3-1 win in the series opener.
John Carlson got a second-period goal for the Capitals, 2-3 in overtime this postseason. Ryan Callahan scored in the second period for the Rangers, who improved to 1-2 in overtime during these playoffs.
Washington had killed 27 of 30 penalties in the postseason before Callahan's goal. It was bad omen for the Capitals, who were 5-1 in the playoffs when scoring first and 0-3 when falling behind 1-0.
• COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY
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STAT OF THE GAME
It was the seventh time the Rangers played a game that required at least three OT periods and, at 114:41, is the fourth-longest game in franchise history. It was the longest Rangers game since March 21, 1939 (119:25, 2-1 loss vs. Boston), and the second longest game resulting in a win for the Rangers all-time (March 26, 1932; 119:32, 4-3 win at Montreal). It was also the longest NHL game since May 4, 2008, when Dallas defeated San Jose at 9:03 of the fourth OT. |
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| (selected by newyorkrangers.com) |
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| 1. Gaborik |
2. Lundqvist |
3. McDonagh |
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[51-24-7]
[42-32-8]