Rangers head for nation's capital with series tied 1-1

2011-12 Playoff Game No. 9; Home Game No. 6	Series tied 1-1
VIDEO: TORTORELLA POSTGAME
• Full Highlights | Highlight of Game | Lundqvist, Richards Postgame		• Melrose CU Save of Game

GAME RECAP Associated Press Alex Ovechkin's power-play goal with 7:27 remaining snapped a tie and gave Washington a 3-2 win over the Rangers that squared the Eastern Conference semifinal series 1-1 on Monday night. Just under six minutes after Ryan Callahan got the Rangers even with a power-play goal, Ovechkin put the Capitals ahead for good after they had squandered a 2-0 lead. Mike Knuble and Jason Chimera scored first-period goals for the Capitals, who will host the next two games of the series. Brad Richards had a goal and assist, and defenseman Michael Del Zotto had two assists for the top-seeded Rangers, who got forward Brian Boyle back from a three-game injury absence. The Blueshirts rebounded from a 14-shot performance in their series-opening win and fired 28 shots on goalie Braden Holtby.  Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves for the Rangers. The Blueshirts had won three straight games, dating to the first round against Ottawa when Boyle sustained a concussion. Ovechkin struck off a clean faceoff win by Nicklas Backstrom. With Richards in the penalty box for holding, Ovechkin fired a shot from inside the blue line past Lundqvist to make it 3-2. The Rangers' power play got them into a 2-2 tie when they worked the puck around the Washington zone several times for drives by Del Zotto. The defenseman dropped down from the blue line to the right circle and let go a shot that worked its way through to the net when Callahan tipped it as he came through the slot. • COMMENT ON BLUESHIRTS UNITED | PHOTO GALLERY

PHOTO OF THE GAME STAT OF THE GAME The Rangers were credited with 45 hits in the contest, led by Ryan Callahan’s game-high, eight hits and Chris Kreider’s career-high, seven hits. Callahan leads the NHL with 46 hits in the playoffs. THREE STARS (selected by newyorkrangers.com) 1. Del Zotto 2. Richards 3. Callahan

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THE BIGGER PICTURE Three years ago, many of these same Rangers players went down to open a playoff series and Washington and took a 2-0 series lead back to New York --  only to lose in seven games. Going down to Washington now tied should only increase their battle level.

RANGERS LEADERS Icetime -- McDonagh (25:30) Shots -- Richards (5) Hits -- Callahan (8) Blocks -- Girardi (4) Takeaways -- McDonagh (2) Faceoffs -- Richards (29)

NEW YORK RANGERS' GAME 2 LINEUP VS. WASHINGTON
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Carl Hagelin	Brad Richards	Marian Gaborik
Chris Kreider	Derek Stepan	Ryan Callahan
Ruslan Fedotenko	Brian Boyle	Brandon Prust
Mike Rupp	Artem Anisimov	John Mitchell

DEFENSE PAIRINGS
Left Defense	Right Defense
Ryan McDonagh	Dan Girardi
Marc Staal	Anton Stralman
Michael Del Zotto	Stu Bickel
Goaltenders: Henrik Lundqvist, Martin Biron Starting Lineup: Lundqvist, Staal, Stralman, Kreider, Stepan, Callahan.

POWER PLAY UNITS
FORWARD LINES
Left Wing	Center	Right Wing
Ryan Callahan	Derek Stepan	Marian Gaborik
Chris Kreider	Brian Boyle	Carl Hagelin

POINT MEN
Left Point	Right Point
Brad Richards	Anton Stralman
Michael Del Zotto	Dan Girardi

PENALTY KILLING UNITS
FORWARD UNITS
Forward	Forward
Fedotenko/Prust	Brian Boyle
Ryan Callahan	Derek Stepan

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