Associated Press
Alex Ovechkin rebounded from a rare zero-shot performance by scoring after 88 seconds Wednesday night, Braden Holtby made 30 saves, and the Washington Capitals recovered from a potentially devastating loss by beating the top-seeded Rangers 2-1 to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinal.
Two nights after blowing a lead in the last 10 seconds of regulation and losing in overtime, the No. 7-seeded Capitals showed immediately they were over it. Ovechkin's early power-play goal and Jason Chimera's second-period score were just enough for the unflappable playoff rookie Holtby.
The teams meet at Madison Square Garden on Saturday night to determine who will face the New Jersey Devils in the conference finals.
With his mom covering her eyes in the stands, Holtby made only one error, and it came with 50.5 seconds left -- a goal that was credited to Marian Gaborik and deflected off a skate and someone in a scrum in the crease. But Washington held on this time.
The 3-2 victory for the Rangers in Game 5 was the sort of setback that can be tough to set aside. The Capitals, however, staved off elimination and are proving to be quite adept at bouncing back. They're 4-0 in games immediately after overtime losses in these playoffs; they haven't lost consecutive games since March 22-23; and Holtby is 6-0 after any defeat this postseason, his first in the NHL.
• COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY
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STAT OF THE GAME
The Rangers out-hit the Capitals 37-33 led by Brandon Prust's game-high, seven hits. The Blueshirts lead the league with 453 hits in postseason action. |
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| (selected by newyorkrangers.com) |
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| 1. Girardi |
2. Lundqvist |
3. Stepan |
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[51-24-7]
[42-32-8]