Capitals vs. Rangers: Game 2 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 NHL Playoffs

The New York Rangers scored a tense 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series Saturday. The series is now tied at one game apiece.

New York grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first period. The Capitals pulled within one on two occasions but could never find an equalizer. Henrik Lundqvist was tremendous between the pipes, making 30 saves to preserve the lead and level the series for the Rangers.

The Rangers suffered a stinging loss in Game 1. After fighting back to tie the opener with less than five minutes to go, they watched Joel Ward score the winner with less than two seconds left in regulation, a crushing blow to begin the series.

Afterward, Dan Rosen of NHL.com provided comments from New York head coach Alain Vigneault. He said his group had to focus on converting their chances at a higher rate.

"We've had good looks that we haven't capitalized on," Vigneault said. "We need to find a way to finish. Our guys are aware of that. We have some good personnel, we need some help from our back end, and we need to get the job done."

The Rangers heeded that advice right away in Game 2.

They grabbed the lead less than a minute into the game courtesy of Chris Kreider. Jesper Fast sent a wrist shot toward goal that Braden Holtby was able to stop. The Caps netminder couldn't control the rebound, however, and Kreider easily tapped the loose puck into the net.

Michael Traikos of the National Post highlighted the lack of defensive effort on the play by Washington:

Kreider wasn't done there. A few minutes later, he took a run at Alex Ovechkin to help set the tone for the home side, as Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News noted:

The Rangers continued to control the pace for most of the first 20 minutes. Their second power play of the period allowed them to make it 2-0.

With Ward in the box for hooking, the Capitals tried to clear the puck, but it stalled out in time for Dan Boyle to keep it in the zone. He quickly fired a shot toward goal that made its way through some traffic in front and beat Holtby over the shoulder.

Adam Vingan of The Tennessean passed along NBC analyst Pierre McGuire's theory about a certain guitar player and his impact on the ice:

"

Pierre calls Dan Boyle's goal the "Eric Clapton Goal" because of the ice condition following last night's concert.

— Adam Vingan (@AdamVingan) May 2, 2015"

ESPN's Katie Strang noted it was the first power-play goal against in the playoffs for the Caps:

The Capitals came alive in the second period. They created consistent pressure for the middle 10 minutes, generating several high-quality scoring chances, but Lundqvist proved to be on his game time and again.

He could only stonewall Washington for so long, though. The Caps finally broke through at the 14-minute mark of the second. That's when Evgeny Kuznetsov tallied his fourth of the postseason.

The play started with an offensive-zone faceoff for the Rangers. They won it back, but the Capitals picked up the puck and started a counterattack. A low shot from Jason Chimera proved difficult for Lundqvist, and Kuznetsov chopped home the rebound.

SNY's Grant Tunkel felt a change after the goal:

Luckily for the Rangers, they were able to escape the second with the lead.

They stretched the lead back out early in the third. The Washington defense couldn't break up a Martin St. Louis pass to Derick Brassard, who had slipped behind the net. He snuck it by Holtby to make it 3-1.

Zach Braziller of the New York Post spotlighted the quick switch in emotion:

The Capitals struck back quickly, though. Four minutes later, it was Ovechkin doing what Ovechkin does: scoring highlight-reel goals.

He burst between two Rangers defenders, regained control of the puck and then shot it across his body while falling down. Lundqvist, who may have been caught off guard by the power Ovechkin got on the attempt, couldn't make the stop.

Sean Hartnett of WFAN summed the goal up well:

In a show of true playoff drama, the Capitals managed to mount some pressure in the attacking zone over the final minutes. The needed goal proved elusive, however, as Lundqvist came up with several more key stops down the stretch.

All signs point to a long series; it wouldn't be a surprise if it took all seven games to decide a winner, as the first two games have gone right down to the wire. A bounce here or there, and either result could have easily flipped.

The Rangers can breathe a sigh of relief. They didn't want to fall behind 2-0 in the series and then have to go out on the road. Now, they can focus on winning at least one of the games in Washington to regain home-ice advantage.

Game 3 is scheduled for Monday night.