Capitals vs. Rangers: Game 5 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2015 NHL Playoffs

Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers went much the same way the first four games have gone. It was a tense, low-scoring affair decided by one goal, as the Rangers stayed alive, thanks to a Ryan McDonagh game-winner in overtime for a 2-1 victory.  

Defense and goaltending have defined most of this series. Only once in five games has either team scored more than two goals—Washington in Game 2—and every game has been decided by one goal. 

Friday's contest was no different, as the teams entered the third period knotted at 0-0.

The first significant opening came on Capitals winger Curtis Glencross' goal with just under 10 minutes to play. Tom Wilson made the goal happen by poking the puck away from Kevin Kline when the Rangers had an advantage in Washington territory. 

With a one-on-one against Henrik Lundqvist, Glencross fired a shot at the Rangers goalie, who made a terrific initial stop but couldn't corral the puck. Glencross knocked the rebound into the net to give Washington a 1-0 lead. 

It was briefly a terrific redemption story for Glencross, whom Chuck Gormley of CSNWashington.com noted was benched earlier in the postseason:

The Capitals were within two minutes of advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals before Chris Kreider evened the score at 1-1 by firing a shot past Braden Holtby that appeared to deflect off Brooks Orpik's skate.

Jesper Fast set up the winner for New York just under 10 minutes into the overtime period. The right wing intercepted a lackadaisical pass and broke forward before finding Derek Stepan. Stepan had a decent angle at the goal, but he faked the defenders out and instead laid the puck off for the trailing McDonagh, who slotted his shot past Holtby for the winner.

Lundqvist nearly had to take a hard-luck loss again, as the Rangers' star goalie did everything in his power to keep his team in the game. He had 28 saves, including 23 before allowing Glencross' goal. 

There's no way anyone could blame Lundqvist if the Rangers had lost. After regulation ended, Neil Greenberg of The Washington Post tweeted out the game-by-game number of goals allowed by the New York star in the postseason:

That's a ridiculous hot streak to be riding, but since the Capitals have been terrific on defense virtually all series, most of those tremendous Lundqvist efforts have ended in losses. But that wasn't the case Friday, as the Rangers pulled off the victory.

The win also keeps alive the Rangers' NHL-record streak of eight straight wins in home elimination games, as ESPN Stats & Info tweeted before Friday's matchup:

The Capitals thought they had a goal in the second period after a shot from Matt Niskanen deflected off Joel Ward in the second period, but the officials waived it off after saying Ward made contact with Lundqvist. 

Stephanie Vail posted a GIF of the play in question that seems to show New York's Stepan shove Ward into Lundqvist:

"

GIF yet another look at Ward's disallowed goal for goalie interference pic.twitter.com/VguTut3Qry

— Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) May 9, 2015"

Holtby, who stopped 41 shots, didn't deserve to lose this game either. Washington's goalie matched Lundqvist save for save until Kreider's goal with less than two minutes to play and McDonagh's winner in overtime. 

Pete Blackburn of UpRoxx noted Holtby's performance should increase his stock with fans and analysts around the league:

This is exactly what anyone could want from a Stanley Cup playoff series. Even though the final results show the Capitals can win the series in six games, it's been a lot closer than that and deserves to go the distance if the hockey gods are fair and just people. 

Alex Ovechkin remained quiet for the third consecutive game. Washington's superstar started the series in dramatic fashion with two goals in two games against Lundqvist and claimed it would be happening "all series, baby." However, over the last three games, the former Hart Trophy winner has no points on 11 shots. 

Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault has done all he possibly could to muster more offense from his team this series, constantly shifting lineups to no avail. He told Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post prior to Game 4 that it's all about a feel for what's in the team's best interest:

“As a coach, you have to do what you feel is best for your team,” Vigneault said. “If at some point, I feel like any changes need to be made for the benefit of the team, I’ll make them.”

Vigneault didn't make any big changes in Game 5, though it probably wouldn't have made a difference because Holtby was playing that well. Even the goal he allowed late in regulation was just a bad deflection off his own player. 

The Rangers played with a sense of urgency most of the night, and it finally paid off with a late goal in regulation from Kreider followed by McDonagh's winner in overtime. They need to keep up that pace on Sunday if they want to get a Game 7 at Madison Square Garden. 

For the Capitals, despite the tough loss, they still have the series advantage and an opportunity to close things out on their home ice. If you would have told them that would happen before this series started, they would have taken it.