The NHL Eastern Conference semifinal playoff Game 5 at Madison Square Garden was much like three of the previous four games in the series; a battle between New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (28 saves) and Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby (41 saves).
In the first period, Holtby robbed Rangers right winger Martin St. Louis with a split save on a backdoor pass.
In the second period, a great tip from Capitals defenseman Mike Green with his blade, a Matt Niskanen (defenseman) clear of a puck that was going to trickle in the net and a disallowed late goal from right winger Joel Ward kept it a scoreless game after 40 minutes of play.
However, in the third period, the Capitals broke through first.
Right winger Tom Wilson raced back after a Lundqvist lead-out pass off the rink’s glass gave the Rangers a three-on-two break, swatting the puck away from NY defenseman Kevin Klein. Niskanen then made a great centering pass to a streaking Caps left winger Curtis Glencross who buried the breakaway shot after Lunqvist made the initial save with 9:06 remaining in the game.
As Lundqvist was heading to the New York bench for an extra attacker, Rangers left winger Chris Kreider put all he had into a shot that zipped right past Holtby tying the game at one.
A minute and 41 seconds were all that was between Washington and its first trip to the Eastern Conference Finals in 17 years. And, for the first time in this series, a game required overtime.
At the 9:37 point into the extra period, Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh kept New York’s dreams alive. The game winning goal was helped out beautifully by an atrocious turnover by Glencross in the neutral zone.
Washington Capitals season ticket holders won’t be spending their entire day Sunday with their wives and mothers. Game 6 will likely be set for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop at the Verizon Center.
Hopefully that 1:41 won’t haunt the Caps and their fans too badly.