The New York Rangers desperately needed a win on Monday night at home to avoid going down 3-0 in their first round playoff series against the Washington Capitals and they did just that, winning 4-3 with two goals in the third period to bring the series to 2-1.
The Rangers hadn't scored a goal since Carl Hagelin netted the first of the series in the opening period of Game 1 and after that the team was shutout by Braden Holtby until the first period on Monday night. Henrik Lundqvist had 28 saves in the game to earn the win, while Holtby had 26 saves, but he allowed the tie goal and go ahead goal in the third period.
New York needed an offensive outburst after being shutout in Game 2 and they got it on Monday, with Brian Boyle and Derek Stepan each scoring a goal, with Stepan's being the eventual game winner in the third. Arron Asham and Derick Brassard also scored one goal each and the team was able to hold off the Caps for the much needed win. The fans started going crazy when the Rangers tied the game and may have helped propel the team to victory.
The Rangers finally broke through on the power play in the series with the goal by Brassard, which at that point put the team in the lead. The Caps had a number of shots and scoring opportunities right at the end of the third period and Lundqvist was fantastic while holding off the attack. The power play goal came from a quick pass near the net from Mats Zuccarello to Brassard and it was on from there.
The Detroit Red Wings stole an important home win on Monday night from the Anaheim Ducks in overtime, taking the victory 3-2 after scoring two goals in the third period and Damien Brummer had the winner in the extra period. The series now tied at 2-2 and will be a best of three series to the finish. Pavel Dastyuk had a goal and Jimmy Howard had 31 saves, while Jonas Hiller had 46 in the loss. The Bruins upset the fans in Canada in Toronto in their first home playoff game in nearly a decade with a 5-2 win to take a 2-1 lead in the series.
