Thank you boss!
2 wins at home + 2 wins on the road = Rangers advancing to round 2!!!! #Change The Ending.
Swedish heroes.
Capitals lead the series 1-0
NEW YORK (AP) Joel Ward wanted Alex Ovechkin to hear him over the din at Madison Square Garden.
So, the depth forward screamed at his superstar teammate.
Maybe he should do it more often.
Ward got Ovechkin's attention and drove the Russian's feed past Henrik Lundqvist with 1.3 seconds left to give the Washington Capitals a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night in Game 1 of their second-round series.
''I took a hard whack at it and it went in,'' Ward said.
After the goal was confirmed by replay, Ovechkin kissed Ward on the cheek.
''I heard (Ward) screaming so loud,'' Ovechkin said. ''I just wanted to throw the puck (to him). As soon as I went to the bench and I saw the replay, it was a clear goal. We'll take it.''
Following a mostly ceremonial faceoff, the teams skirmished at center ice, sparked by New York's displeasure that Nicklas Backstrom wasn't penalized for hitting Dan Boyle from behind on the play that led to Ward's goal. To a man, the Rangers acknowledged that they let up, expecting referees Chris Rooney and Kelly Sutherland to blow the play dead.
''I saw (Boyle) get hit (and) go down,'' defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. ''I kind of hesitated.''
Ovechkin opened the scoring with a power play goal with 1:47 remaining in the first period. Jesper Fast tied it with 4:39 left in the third, tipping Kevin Hayes' point shot past goalie Braden Holtby.
Holtby made 31 saves, and Lundqvist stopped 27 shots.
Game 2 is Saturday in New York.
''I don't care,'' New York coach Alain Vigneault said, when asked if the 12:30 p.m. start for Game 2 could benefit his team. ''We'll play whatever time the game is.''
The Capitals ended a two-game losing streak against New York in the playoffs. Washington also lost three of the four regular-season meetings with the Rangers.
''They're a very talented team,'' Capitals coach Barry Trotz said about the Rangers, who finished the regular season with the most points and wins in franchise history. ''There's a reason that they finished No. 1 in the regular season.''
In the first period, with New York center Dominic Moore in the penalty box for holding, Ovechkin carried the puck into the offensive zone and whipped a shot past Lundqvist from the top of the left circle for his third goal of the playoffs.
In 27 career playoff games against the Rangers, Ovechkin has 11 goals and 10 assists. He led the NHL during the regular season with 53 goals, 25 power-play goals and 11 game-winning goals.
Ovechkin's goal was Washington's first playoff score against Lundqvist in 138:13 dating to Game 6 of the 2013 Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
''He's a rare talent in this league,'' Trotz said about Ovechkin. ''He's very similar to Mark Messier. Those rare talents that can play a very heavy game (and) intimidate you with speed. He can intimidate you with his skill and his physicality.''
Holtby was aided by some misfires from New York's shooters.
In the second, Carl Hagelin pushed Fast's cross-ice feed wide of the net. Later in the period, Derick Brassard couldn't jam a loose puck in the crease past Holtby. Martin St. Louis' slap shot from the slot 3:56 into the third was blocked by Karl Alzner.
''Adjustments will be made,'' New York center Derek Stepan said. ''One of the biggest adjustments will be shooting more pucks.''
Lundqvist was strong, too. He made a glove save on Backstrom with 5:28 left in the second. In the third, he stopped Brooks Laich's wraparound attempt and John Carlson's off-wing drive.
''It's a tough one, it really stinks,'' Lundqvist said. ''We will regroup and come back.''
NOTES: New York right wing Mats Zuccarello is sidelined by an upper-body injury sustained in the first period of the Rangers' 2-1 overtime victory in Game 5 against Pittsburgh. Without Zuccarello, New York coach Alain Vigneault reconfigured three of his four forward lines. St. Louis was moved up to the top line with Brassard and Rick Nash. Fast replaced St. Louis on the third line with Hayes and Hagelin. James Sheppard was activated for the first time in the playoffs and skated on the fourth line with Moore and Tanner Glass. ... Washington was without Eric Fehr. He missed his fifth straight game with an undisclosed injury sustained in the first round against the New York Islanders. Michael Latta was scratched. ... This series marks the ninth time New York and Washington have met in the playoffs. They have split the previous eight series, 4-4.
NEW YORK (AP) Joel Ward wanted Alex Ovechkin to hear him over the din at Madison Square Garden.
So, the depth forward screamed at his superstar teammate.
Maybe he should do it more often.
Ward got Ovechkin's attention and drove the Russian's feed past Henrik Lundqvist with 1.3 seconds left to give the Washington Capitals a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night in Game 1 of their second-round series.
''I took a hard whack at it and it went in,'' Ward said.
After the goal was confirmed by replay, Ovechkin kissed Ward on the cheek.
''I heard (Ward) screaming so loud,'' Ovechkin said. ''I just wanted to throw the puck (to him). As soon as I went to the bench and I saw the replay, it was a clear goal. We'll take it.''
Following a mostly ceremonial faceoff, the teams skirmished at center ice, sparked by New York's displeasure that Nicklas Backstrom wasn't penalized for hitting Dan Boyle from behind on the play that led to Ward's goal. To a man, the Rangers acknowledged that they let up, expecting referees Chris Rooney and Kelly Sutherland to blow the play dead.
''I saw (Boyle) get hit (and) go down,'' defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. ''I kind of hesitated.''
Ovechkin opened the scoring with a power play goal with 1:47 remaining in the first period. Jesper Fast tied it with 4:39 left in the third, tipping Kevin Hayes' point shot past goalie Braden Holtby.
Holtby made 31 saves, and Lundqvist stopped 27 shots.
Game 2 is Saturday in New York.
''I don't care,'' New York coach Alain Vigneault said, when asked if the 12:30 p.m. start for Game 2 could benefit his team. ''We'll play whatever time the game is.''
The Capitals ended a two-game losing streak against New York in the playoffs. Washington also lost three of the four regular-season meetings with the Rangers.
''They're a very talented team,'' Capitals coach Barry Trotz said about the Rangers, who finished the regular season with the most points and wins in franchise history. ''There's a reason that they finished No. 1 in the regular season.''
In the first period, with New York center Dominic Moore in the penalty box for holding, Ovechkin carried the puck into the offensive zone and whipped a shot past Lundqvist from the top of the left circle for his third goal of the playoffs.
In 27 career playoff games against the Rangers, Ovechkin has 11 goals and 10 assists. He led the NHL during the regular season with 53 goals, 25 power-play goals and 11 game-winning goals.
Ovechkin's goal was Washington's first playoff score against Lundqvist in 138:13 dating to Game 6 of the 2013 Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
''He's a rare talent in this league,'' Trotz said about Ovechkin. ''He's very similar to Mark Messier. Those rare talents that can play a very heavy game (and) intimidate you with speed. He can intimidate you with his skill and his physicality.''
Holtby was aided by some misfires from New York's shooters.
In the second, Carl Hagelin pushed Fast's cross-ice feed wide of the net. Later in the period, Derick Brassard couldn't jam a loose puck in the crease past Holtby. Martin St. Louis' slap shot from the slot 3:56 into the third was blocked by Karl Alzner.
''Adjustments will be made,'' New York center Derek Stepan said. ''One of the biggest adjustments will be shooting more pucks.''
Lundqvist was strong, too. He made a glove save on Backstrom with 5:28 left in the second. In the third, he stopped Brooks Laich's wraparound attempt and John Carlson's off-wing drive.
''It's a tough one, it really stinks,'' Lundqvist said. ''We will regroup and come back.''
NOTES: New York right wing Mats Zuccarello is sidelined by an upper-body injury sustained in the first period of the Rangers' 2-1 overtime victory in Game 5 against Pittsburgh. Without Zuccarello, New York coach Alain Vigneault reconfigured three of his four forward lines. St. Louis was moved up to the top line with Brassard and Rick Nash. Fast replaced St. Louis on the third line with Hayes and Hagelin. James Sheppard was activated for the first time in the playoffs and skated on the fourth line with Moore and Tanner Glass. ... Washington was without Eric Fehr. He missed his fifth straight game with an undisclosed injury sustained in the first round against the New York Islanders. Michael Latta was scratched. ... This series marks the ninth time New York and Washington have met in the playoffs. They have split the previous eight series, 4-4.
The series is tied 1-1
NEW YORK (AP) The New York Rangers needed to bounce back after a tough loss to the Washington Capitals.
Chris Kreider didn't need long to get them going.
Kreider scored 38 seconds after the opening faceoff and the Rangers defeated the Capitals 3-2 Saturday, tying their Eastern Conference semifinal series at 1-1.
''I think it helped us a lot to get back on track and not think too much, just play our game and get the building going,'' said Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who made 30 saves.
''You definitely need to build up your confidence a little bit after what happened last game. That was tough. But you move on.''
The next stop is Washington for Game 3 on Monday, and if it is like the first two, it should be fun. Both games have been decided by a goal.
''We didn't play good enough to win this hockey game,'' Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. ''The Rangers deserved to win this hockey game. We didn't play our best game.''
Dan Boyle and Derick Brassard also scored for New York in the entertaining game that featured a highlight-reel goal by Alexander Ovechkin that made the final 10 minutes exciting.
Evgeny Kuznetsov also scored for Washington and Braden Holtby made 32 saves and prevented the Capitals from being blown out early.
Game 2 will be remembered for Kreider's early goal and Ovechkin's spectacular tally in the third period, when the NHL's top goal scorer got past top defensemen Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh and beat Lundqvist with a top-shelf shot as he was falling to the ice.
''It's just an instinct situation,'' Ovechkin said.
Rangers coach Alain Vigneault was impressed.
''The guys pushed him to the outside and there were almost three guys around him and he still got the shot off from his knees. He's a great player.''
The Rangers were looking for a response after losing Game 1 on a goal by Joel Ward with 1.3 seconds left.
And they came out so fast the sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden hadn't even settled comfortably into their seats after the national anthem before they were jumping to celebrate.
It was similar to Game 1 against the Penguins when Brassard scored 28 seconds after the opening-round series started.
This time it was Kreider. He deflected a pass by defenseman Kevin Klein into the Washington zone and then went to the net and fired the rebound of Jesper Fast's shot into an open net for a quick lead.
Kreider felt the win was the perfect response to the Game 1 loss, but the goal was a stepping stone.
''We needed to answer and now it's the best of five,'' Kreider said.
Washington didn't go away after falling behind 2-0 and 3-1, and they had chances in the closing minutes to tie the game.
After killing off a late penalty, Washington pulled Holtby and came close to tying the game, but Lundqvist stopped Troy Brouwer in close in the final minute.
''We have to have a better start,'' Ovechkin said. ''The physical game was not at the level we want. We gave them too much confidence, too much freedom to their skill guys.''
The Rangers had a dominant first period, outshooting Capitals 15-4 and taking a 2-0 lead.
Boyle got the second goal with a shot from the point on a power play after the puck hit one of the officials and stayed in the Washington zone. His shot eluded Holtby, who was being distracted by Rick Nash in the crease.
Holtby was the major reason the Capitals were still in the game after 40 minutes. He stopped 25 of 27 shots, including early second-period stops in close on Fast and James Sheppard that could have given New York a bigger lead.
Kuznetsov scored on a rebound with 6:01 left in the second period to cut the lead to 2-1, but Brassard stretched the lead to 3-1 at 6:07 of the third period, just 10 seconds after he came out of the penalty box.
Ovechkin narrowed the lead to 3-2 with his fourth goal of the playoffs and second in as many games against the Rangers.
NOTES: Kreider leads the Rangers in playoff goals (13) since he made his NHL debut in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at Ottawa on April 16, 2012. ... Capitals C Eric Fehr missed his sixth straight game with an upper-body injury. C Michael Latta was a healthy scratch. ... Rangers RW Mats Zuccarello missed his second straight game after being hit in the head by a shot in Game 5 against Pittsburgh. ... New York recalled LW Ryan Bourque from Hartford (AHL) before the game. He did not play. ... Ovechkin led the Capitals with nine hits. ... Girardi had a game-high five blocks.
NEW YORK (AP) The New York Rangers needed to bounce back after a tough loss to the Washington Capitals.
Chris Kreider didn't need long to get them going.
Kreider scored 38 seconds after the opening faceoff and the Rangers defeated the Capitals 3-2 Saturday, tying their Eastern Conference semifinal series at 1-1.
''I think it helped us a lot to get back on track and not think too much, just play our game and get the building going,'' said Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who made 30 saves.
''You definitely need to build up your confidence a little bit after what happened last game. That was tough. But you move on.''
The next stop is Washington for Game 3 on Monday, and if it is like the first two, it should be fun. Both games have been decided by a goal.
''We didn't play good enough to win this hockey game,'' Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. ''The Rangers deserved to win this hockey game. We didn't play our best game.''
Dan Boyle and Derick Brassard also scored for New York in the entertaining game that featured a highlight-reel goal by Alexander Ovechkin that made the final 10 minutes exciting.
Evgeny Kuznetsov also scored for Washington and Braden Holtby made 32 saves and prevented the Capitals from being blown out early.
Game 2 will be remembered for Kreider's early goal and Ovechkin's spectacular tally in the third period, when the NHL's top goal scorer got past top defensemen Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh and beat Lundqvist with a top-shelf shot as he was falling to the ice.
''It's just an instinct situation,'' Ovechkin said.
Rangers coach Alain Vigneault was impressed.
''The guys pushed him to the outside and there were almost three guys around him and he still got the shot off from his knees. He's a great player.''
The Rangers were looking for a response after losing Game 1 on a goal by Joel Ward with 1.3 seconds left.
And they came out so fast the sellout crowd at Madison Square Garden hadn't even settled comfortably into their seats after the national anthem before they were jumping to celebrate.
It was similar to Game 1 against the Penguins when Brassard scored 28 seconds after the opening-round series started.
This time it was Kreider. He deflected a pass by defenseman Kevin Klein into the Washington zone and then went to the net and fired the rebound of Jesper Fast's shot into an open net for a quick lead.
Kreider felt the win was the perfect response to the Game 1 loss, but the goal was a stepping stone.
''We needed to answer and now it's the best of five,'' Kreider said.
Washington didn't go away after falling behind 2-0 and 3-1, and they had chances in the closing minutes to tie the game.
After killing off a late penalty, Washington pulled Holtby and came close to tying the game, but Lundqvist stopped Troy Brouwer in close in the final minute.
''We have to have a better start,'' Ovechkin said. ''The physical game was not at the level we want. We gave them too much confidence, too much freedom to their skill guys.''
The Rangers had a dominant first period, outshooting Capitals 15-4 and taking a 2-0 lead.
Boyle got the second goal with a shot from the point on a power play after the puck hit one of the officials and stayed in the Washington zone. His shot eluded Holtby, who was being distracted by Rick Nash in the crease.
Holtby was the major reason the Capitals were still in the game after 40 minutes. He stopped 25 of 27 shots, including early second-period stops in close on Fast and James Sheppard that could have given New York a bigger lead.
Kuznetsov scored on a rebound with 6:01 left in the second period to cut the lead to 2-1, but Brassard stretched the lead to 3-1 at 6:07 of the third period, just 10 seconds after he came out of the penalty box.
Ovechkin narrowed the lead to 3-2 with his fourth goal of the playoffs and second in as many games against the Rangers.
NOTES: Kreider leads the Rangers in playoff goals (13) since he made his NHL debut in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at Ottawa on April 16, 2012. ... Capitals C Eric Fehr missed his sixth straight game with an upper-body injury. C Michael Latta was a healthy scratch. ... Rangers RW Mats Zuccarello missed his second straight game after being hit in the head by a shot in Game 5 against Pittsburgh. ... New York recalled LW Ryan Bourque from Hartford (AHL) before the game. He did not play. ... Ovechkin led the Capitals with nine hits. ... Girardi had a game-high five blocks.
