Rangers put fear in Caps before falling 2-1 in OT

2011 Playoffs Round 1, Game 1		Washington Leads Series 1-0
VIDEO: TORTORELLA POSTGAME
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GAME RECAP Associated Press WASHINGTON -- The Washington Capitals managed to accomplish a frustrating hat trick of iron, hitting the post or crossbar three times. They also failed to finish off two clean breakaways. But Alex Ovechkin found a way to score, tying the game late in regulation during an intense poke-at-the-puck scramble. Then Alexander Semin broke his playoff drought 18:24 into overtime to give the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference a 2-1 win over the eighth-seeded Rangers in Game 1 of their first-round series on Wednesday night. The winning goal came when Jason Arnott intercepted a clearing pass from Marc Staal, then found Semin between the circles for a one-timer past Henrik Lundqvist. Semin had gone 14 playoff games without a goal, his last one coming against the Rangers in a first-round series two years ago. Rangers defenseman Matt Gilroy broke a scoreless tie with a one-timer 1:56 into the third period, and Ovechkin tied it with 6:16 left in regulation. Michal Neuvirth made 24 saves to win his NHL playoff debut. Lundqvist stopped 31 shots and was helped by the posts behind him that absorbed three drives. Game 2 is Friday night in Washington. • MORE COVERAGE | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STAT OF THE GAME The Rangers are 2-4 in playoff OT games vs. Washington. This was the longest contest between the teams, outlasting the previous longest by 11:36 (Apr. 27, 1990 - 66:48). THREE STARS (selected by newyorkrangers.com) 1. Matt Gilroy 2. H. Lundqvist 3. B. Prust

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THE BIGGER PICTURE The Rangers did everything they wanted to do in this one except win. They played their game, established their forecheck, and were remarkably patient in the face of some very skilled players. The Capitals have to be feeling concerned about this series.

RANGERS LEADERS Icetime -- Staal (33:48) Shots -- Gaborik (4) Hits -- Prust (5) Blocks -- Girardi (5) Takeaways -- Prust (3) Faceoffs -- Boyle (24)

NEW YORK RANGERS LINEUP AT WASHINGTON
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Vinny Prospal	Artem Anisimov	Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky	Derek Stepan	Ruslan Fedotenko
Wojtek Wolski	Brian Boyle	Brandon Prust
Chris Drury	Erik Christensen	Mats Zuccarello

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Marc Staal	Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh	Michael Sauer
Bryan McCabe	Matt Gilroy
Goaltenders: Henrik Lundqvist, Chad Johnson Starting Lineup: Lundqvist, Staal, Girardi, Prospal, Anisimov, Gaborik.

POWER PLAY UNITS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Brandon Dubinsky	Vinny Prospal	Marian Gaborik
Wojtek Wolski	Brian Boyle	Erik Christensen

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Marc Staal	Bryan McCabe
Matt Gilroy	Dan Girardi

PENALTY KILLING UNITS
FORWARD UNITS
Forward	Forward
Brandon Dubinsky	Chris Drury
Brandon Prust	Brian Boyle
Ruslan Fedotenko	Derek Stepan

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Marc Staal	Dan Girardi
Ryan McDonagh	Michael Sauer