Rangers 4, Capitals 3
WASHINGTON -- For the third time in four years, the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers are going the distance in a playoff series.
Left winger Chris Kreider scored two goals and left winger Rick Nash and defenseman Dan Boyle each netted third-period goals, leading the Rangers to a wild 4-3 win over the Capitals on Sunday night at the Verizon Center.
The win evens the Eastern Conference semifinal series at three victories apiece, setting up a decisive Game 7 Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The two teams also needed a Game 7 to decide their playoff series in 2012 and 2013. The Rangers won each time.
Leading 2-1 after two periods, the Rangers took a 4-1 lead on early third-period goals by Nash and Boyle, only to see the Capitals stage a furious comeback.
Washington rookie center Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his fifth goal of the playoffs with 7:40 gone in the third period, and right winger Joel Ward made it 4-3 with his third goal of the playoffs with 9:27 remaining in regulation.
But New York netminder Henrik Lundqvist withstood a barrage of shots in the final nine minutes, his biggest stop coming against Washington captain Alex Ovechkin from the high slot. Ovechkin failed to score a goal for the fourth straight game in the series. He hasn't gone four games without a goal since December.
The Capitals had a two-minute power play in the final three minutes of play after Rangers left winger James Sheppard took a delay of game penalty, but even after pulling goaltender Braden Holtby for a sixth attacker, the Capitals could not get a puck past Lundqvist.
The Rangers have been the best first-period team in the NHL this season and they wasted little time flexing their muscles against the Capitals as Kreider scored on New York's first and last shots of the opening period to grab a 2-0 lead.
Kreider's first goal of the night and fourth of the playoffs came just 40 seconds into the game when center Derick Brassard hit him with a stretch pass. Kreider got a step on Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen, held him off and backhanded a shot over right shoulder of Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby.
Rangers center Derek Stepan won a battle against Capitals forwards Andre Burakovsky and Jay Beagle along the defensive wall to free the puck for Brassard.
Both goaltenders needed to come up with big saves to keep the game tight in the first period, with Lundqvist flashing out his right pad to stop back-to-back shots from left winger Jason Chimera and right winger Troy Brouwer, and Holtby turning away center Dominic Moore five times.
A roughing penalty on Brouwer with 4 seconds remaining in the first period gave the Rangers their second power play of the period and after a faceoff win by Stepan and a point blast by Brassard, Kreider slammed home the rebound with three-tenths of a second remaining to send the Rangers into the first intermission with a two-goal lead.
In all, the Rangers have outscored their playoff opponents 9-2 in the opening period.
Unfazed, the Capitals scored just 28 Washington rookie center Evgeny Kuznetsoz deflected a point shot by right winger Joel Ward into the chest of Lundqvist and when the puck squirted into the crease, Chimera pitch-forked it over the goal line for his third goal of the playoffs.
Each team had power-play opportunities in the second period but could not convert as the Capitals outshot the Rangers 18-4 but managed just one goal.
NOTES: Capitals D Tim Gleason left the game twice with an undisclosed injury but returned each time. ... Among NHL starters, Capitals G Braden Holtby (1.51 goals-against average, .951 save percentage) and Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist (1.55 GAA, .942) were ranked first and second in those categories. ... Washington C Eric Fehr sat out his ninth straight playoff game with an upper body injury but could be available for the Capitals' next game.