The New York Rangers were facing the prospect of going down 3-0 in their first round playoff series against the Washington Capitals in Game 3 when Derek Stepan put in the go ahead goal and after a furious comeback attempt, they held on for the win and now the series is tied 2-2.
The Rangers followed up their Game 3 victory with another 4-3 win in Game 4 and now the team is back on stable ground as the series heads to the nation's capital for Game 5. The Rangers were the first team to score in the series after a first period goal from Carl Hagelin in Game 1, but after losing the first game 3-1 and getting shutout 1-0 in overtime in Game 2 by goalie Braden Holtby, the Rangers were on the brink.
The scoreless streak was snapped by Brian Boyle and later the team scored its first power play goal of the playoffs on a great play from Derek Brassard, who has been the most consistent playmaker while leading the team in scoring and assists. Henrik Lundqvist was named a finalist for the Vezina trophy for the second straight season earlier in the week and in Game 3 he showed exactly why, as a furious comeback attempt by the Caps was stopped after a six on four advantage at the end of the game and he was great again in Game 4 when the Rangers were clinging to a 4-3 lead. The Caps have done a good job of matching the Rangers scoring, but since Game two they have been outscored 8-6 and the Rangers will try to keep that in their favor on Friday night. The Rangers have been more aggressive over the past two games and that has resulted in more scoring chances and more goals, something that was noticeably absent from the first two games and is something that coach John Tortorella has been preaching in practice.
The two teams have played three years in a row and four of the past five and last season the series went seven, which is looking like more of a possibility now after the Rangers came back and won two games in a row. The team could steal the momentum in the series with a win on Friday and if they lose the series, it wouldn't be anything new, as the Caps have dropped eight playoff series previously after taking 2-0 or 3-1 leads, according to the AP. Mike Green has been the leading scorer for the team and he had the game winner in the overtime game on Lundqvist. Alex Ovechkin will look to get going on Friday after the Rangers kept him out of the scoring line for both Game 3 and 4 and the philosophy on Friday will be the same.