It looked like heartbreak matinee at the Garden. Ovechkin ties the game with a minute left in the second period. The Rangers have a goal overturned at the buzzer. The NBC clock showed .01, but the clock that counts said .00. With about five minutes to go in the game Knuble ties it up and it looked like a long night. Then Brandon Dubinsky, who was a monster all game with seven hits, spins away from the boards and puts in the winner with a little over a minute to win it for the Rangers.
Dubinsky's goal was aided by Fedotenko going at it with a Cap defensemen, I think it was Hannan, basically getting him out of the play. The Rangers were relentless. They outshot the Caps, 35-25, out hit them, 41-29, won more faceoffs, 56-44. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau complained that the Rangers were hitting his goalie and getting away with it. I wonder what he thought his guys have been doing to Lundqvist?
The one negative continues to be the power play. It was 1-7 with Christensen scoring the PP goal on a shot that seemed stoppable by Cap goalie Michal Neuvirth. The Caps were 1-3 on the PP. Chris Drury, who got only 7:56 of ice time won 15 of 19 faceoffs which was huge. Fedotenko, Dubinsky, Gaborik, Staal and Girardi all played more than 20 minutes each.
So now the Rangers have an opportunity to tie the series Wednesday. They will need to be more forceful and aggressive than today as the Caps will be charging and their coach has already sent a warning message to the refs.
One view of things from D.C.
Stephen Whyno / Washington Times:
Rangers' strategy of running Michal Neuvirth pays off --
Michal Neuvirth’s poise under pressure is obvious to everyone who watches. So when the Rangers couldn’t rattle the Capitals’ young goalie with shots directed his way, they turned to playing their own game after the whistles.
Sean Avery chirped Neuvirth. Brian Boyle and others kept running into him in an attempt to throw him off his game. It worked – not because the 23-year-old faltered in the 3-2 loss but because the Caps got frustrated by the extracurricular activity...
Blue Line Station:
Let’s Watch Sean Avery… Act Like Sean Avery -- [Avery "snaps his twig" to buy time after an icing]
That was certainly an entertaining game! We scored goals, plural. Who knew we had it in us? I'm presuming we got above your Blocked Shots magic number?
1-7 on the PP would have been a huge issue had we not got the victory. With the win that's an easier stat to ignore. Will have to improve for the series to turn our way.
Roll on Wednesday night. Thursday will be a rough day at work for me after staying up all night, I live in hope that there is no OT.
Hopefully we play with a high level of intensity again. I really enjoyed the Avery/Boyle/Prust line causing havoc out there. Would like to see them allowed to do it again Wednesday.
Luke
Yes, a game to enjoy, they were really shaking the sideboards yesterday (Avery, Boyle, Prust).
The Stats sheet shows that the Rangers only had 12 blocked shots (Girardi with 5), the Caps had 11. So that was pretty low relative to what they've been doing in their wins (+18). But it looked like the Rangers finally wanted to dispense some punishment yesterday, instead of receiving it. So the hits stat was the bigger deal in the game. The Rangers had 41 recorded hits to 29 for the Caps. Prust with 5 hits and Dubinsky with 7 led in that category. Avery had only 1 recorded hit, that seems low.
You know Mike, I can't understand why some Ranger fans don't like Avery. You don't win Stanley Cups with a team of friggen boy scouts..lol Not saying the Rangers are getting that far but you need that guy who thinks outside the box, has the moxy to break a stick AND cojones to actually try and sell it by falling to the ice..lol If only coach disagreeable wasn't such an attention you know what himself. That's the problem here, throwing water bottles aside, Torts doesn't want to share the limelight..lol
They better fix this PP scheme. Two 5-3's, minimal shots from the point. Dubinsky's moustache....enough said..lol Here's to another strong game and a win Wednesday.
I think Avery is a smart guy, who does what it takes to win games. Torts is his ball and chain.
Bruce Boudreau is to be pitied.
What a whiner. He's supposed to be a leader. What player would look up to him after that public bout of snivelling?
Keep the same game going, Rangers. The Caps took real penalties, contrary to Brucey's whining opinion. It's just that this set of refs did not put the whistle away (there IS no consistency in the NHL, officiating is a cult of personality).
Who knows what new standard of officiating will rule on Wednesday?
Even though the Rangers powerplay has proven to be extremely suspect, it is important that they keep pushing the Capitals into taking penalties. Watching Ovetchkin repeatedly slashing Gaborik in the hands, I wondered why Ovie felt he was impervious to punitions.
I have no idea what kind of Capitals team will skate out on Wednesday, but the Rangers team we saw on Sunday is the team we need to see again. If they play as hard, or harder, it might not matter what the Capitals want to do.