NHL Playoffs 2012: Washington Capitals Defeat New York Rangers to Force Game 7

The Washington Capitals rallied back from a disappointing overtime loss in Monday’s Game 5 to defeat the New York Rangers to force a seventh game in the series. The Rangers will host Game 7 in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night. The winner of that game will advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against the New Jersey Devils.

Captain Alexander Ovechkin set the tone early in the game like only he can. Less than a minute and a half into the first period, Ovechkin scored a beautiful power-play, one-time slap shot from the high slot.

Jason Chimera followed up 11 minutes into the second period by finding twine on the rebound on Nicklas Backstrom’s shot. Backstrom and Carlson got the assists on the goal but Alexander Semin also deserves a pat on the back for his resilience that kept the play alive. This goal, which was Chimera’s fourth of the playoffs, would prove to be the game-winner.

The Caps special teams definitely played a big part in their win. While the power play yielded an important goal, it was less than stellar. Often times the Caps seemed to struggle setting up in the offensive zone.

On the other hand, the penalty kill from the Caps was fantastic. They killed off three minors and a double minor. On top of that, the short-handed unit managed to get a handful of very good scoring chances. One memorable short-handed play saw Matt Hendricks set up Marcus Johansson on a two-on-one, only to have Johansson unable to pull off the shot.

Braden Holtby has continued to show why he's one of the biggest stories of the 2012 postseason. He stopped 30 of 31 shots taken by the Rangers. It wasn’t until the very last minute of regulation that Marian Gaborik put the Rangers on the scoreboard, breaking Holtby’s shutout.

From top to bottom, the Caps fought hard and earned themselves the right to a series-deciding Game 7. Not only did Ovechkin help set a winning tone early on, but he proved that he has truly taken to Dale Hunter’s new defensive initiative. All four lines played a vital part in the outcome of this game. Hunter’s new combination of Hendricks, Ward and Brouwer proved to be especially interesting.

The Capitals and Rangers both have two days to recuperate before they meet in New York for the deciding game. This will be the second Game 7 for both teams. If the Caps can play like they did tonight in Game 6, they would be more than capable of overcoming the Rangers and continuing their Stanley Cup quest.