Rangers fall, Capitals even series
Washington Capitals center Marcus Johansson (90), of Sweden, tangles with New York Rangers right wing Ryan Callahan (24) during the first period of Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup second-round playoff series in Washington. (May 5, 2012) Credit: AP
WASHINGTON -- Unlike the aftermath of the Rangers' three-overtime win in Game 3, the visitors' locker room at Verizon Center wasn't filled with exhausted but happy Rangers Saturday. Instead, equipment was shoved into bags. Doors were slammed. Players were tight-lipped, angry.
They were irritated by a 3-2 loss that allowed the Capitals to tie the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games each. And the refusal to discuss the officiating by coach John Tortorella, Brad Richards, Marc Staal and others spoke volumes.
At least three critical plays in the loss were up for debate.
With 6:15 left in the third and the score tied at 2, Rangers forward Carl Hagelin was whistled for slashing the stick out of John Carlson's hands in the neutral zone, a questionable call. A few minutes earlier, Alex Ovechkin wasn't called for a similar slash on Brian Boyle.
What proved to be the winning goal came on the ensuing power play as Mike Green's slap shot from the right circle zipped past Henrik Lundqvist's stick side with 5:48 left.
Neither Hagelin nor Boyle was available to talk about the plays.
Ovechkin, who opened the scoring with a one-timer that popped out of Lundqvist's glove and in at 12:43 of the first period, a session that the Caps dominated, also was a key figure in another incident.
Nicklas Backstrom had scored his second goal of the playoffs at 11:54 of the second period, firing the puck over Lundqvist's right shoulder for a 2-1 lead. Just 23 seconds later, Ovechkin was assessed a charging penalty when he skated past the puck in open ice and left his feet to hit Dan Girardi high. The Rangers didn't score with the man-advantage, but Ovechkin could face a fine or suspension for the incident.
Ovechkin said his shoulder connected with Girardi's shoulder. "I just missed the puck. I tried to kick the puck and I saw he was coming, so I just got to protect myself," he said. But Girardi said: "It hit me in the head first . . . I saw him coming, then he hit me. I'm not even going to get into that. He's a big guy and he hits hard."
Girardi declined to say whether Ovechkin, who has two goals in the last three games, deserves further punishment. "I'm not going to be judge of that," he said.
Game 5 is Monday at Madison Square Garden. "It's best-of-three with home ice," said Richards, who had four shots. "We've been in good position every game to win it. They needed a win. It happens. Third period, tie game, we just couldn't finish it off. We've got to do more."
The Rangers finished with only 20 shots and the Capitals blocked 26, including Brooks Laich's stop on Girardi with two seconds remaining. The Rangers blocked a playoff-low seven.
The second period ended tied at 2-2 after the Capitals stopped skating for a moment, believing there was an icing. But at least one linesman waved off the icing, and Artem Anisimov -- who had scored to tie it at 1-1 at 1:10 of the second period with some nifty stickwork in front to deke Capitals goalie Braden Holtby -- raced ahead and backhanded the puck from behind the line to Marian Gaborik in front. Gaborik deposited the puck behind Holtby, who had his glove raised, calling for icing.
The Caps showed no sense of fatigue after the three-overtime loss. In the first period, they outshot the Rangers 14-3, with six of those shots on an early power play after Anton Stralman went to the box for interfering with Jason Chimera.
Lundqvist, who made 23 saves, stopped Alexander Semin, Backstrom and Green in an 11-second span during that man-advantage.
"They came out way more aggressive," said Lundqvist, who said he was screened and guessing on Backstrom's and Green's goals. "Right now it's tough to be positive, but it's 2-2."
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