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I couldn’t have said it better myself…

Capitals Season Comes to an End

That’s A Wrap – The Washington Capitals and New York Rangers traded wins in their 2012 Eastern Conference semifinal series. New York won the odd-numbered games and the Caps the even-numbered contests. The Rangers finished the Caps on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, winning a 2-1 decision in Game 7.

The Rangers move on to face the New Jersey Devils in the Eastern Conference final series while Washington now faces its off-season and starts looking ahead to the 2012 NHL Draft and the 2012-13 campaign.

“The effort was there,” says Caps captain Alex Ovechkin. “It’s hard right now to say something. All of the guys worked hard. I don’t know what to say right now. We just lost the series. It’s a great group of guys. Everybody fights and everybody works hard. We had pretty good momentum in the second period but we didn’t use it. And we lose.”

“I thought we should have won,” says Caps defenseman Karl Alzner. “We didn’t play like we should have won, I don’t think. We definitely didn’t play our best game. We didn’t have enough fight, enough grit. Didn’t battle for pucks enough. We had a power play that was awful. It’s really too bad that in a game of this magnitude, we stunk the bed pretty much. It was not good enough for us.”

New York scored on its first shot of the game, a Brad Richards one-timer from the left circle at 1:32 of the first period, and the Rangers never trailed the rest of the way.

The Caps had difficulty getting their shot attempts through to New York netminder Henrik Lundqvist all night, but especially early and late in the game. Already facing an early deficit, the Caps managed to get just two of their first 11 shot attempts of the game on goal.

Washington had chances in the second, but Lundqvist poke-checked Alexnder Semin on a breakaway and flashed his right pad to deny Mike Knuble on the doorstep. The Caps had a sustained stretch of offensive zone pressure in the second, but were never quite able to generate a strong enough chance – or second chance – to beat Lundqvist.

For the first time in their 14 games played in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Caps went into the third period trailing. But they were only down by a single goal, and they were playing against a New York team that was an unfathomable 0-3 in games in which it had led after 40 minutes.

As close as the game was, and with their season on the line, the Caps simply couldn’t muster enough offense in the game’s final 20 minutes to get the job done.

Caps captain Alex Ovechkin had two strong chances in the third, but missed the net both times. He missed by inches low to the far side after Nicklas Backstrom won an offensive zone draw with 13:47 left. Minutes later, Matt Hendricks forced a turnover at the New York line and passed to Semin on the far wing. Semin hit Ovechkin with a feed in the high slot, but the captain’s slapper from 36 feet was nowhere near the mark.

Less than half a minute after that second Ovechkin miss, Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto scored to make it 2-0. That tally came just past the midway mark of the third.

Del Zotto’s goal looked damning for the Capitals, but only for 38 seconds. Caps defenseman Roman Hamrlik got it back, flipping a wrist shot past Lundqvist after a nice passing sequence from Troy Brouwer, Jason Chimera andBrooks Laich.

With 9:17 left, the Caps were once again only down by a goal.

Seconds later, the Caps got the opportunity they needed. New York’s Ruslan Fedotenko was whistled for a delay of game (puck over the glass) infraction, and Washington’s power play – fifth best in the NHL in the 2012 playoffs coming into the game – had its first chance of the evening.

Although Washington had the fewest power play chances per game of any of the 16 playoff entrants this spring, the Caps’ power play had chimed in with several key goals late in contests. On this night, the Washington extra-man unit had nothing. They were out of synch and completely lacking luster.

With 22 seconds remaining in the lone Washington power play of the night, Caps center Nicklas Backstrom took an offensive zone slashing call that abbreviated the team’s best chance for an equalizer. Washington’s power play produced three giveaways and not a single shot attempt, let alone a shot on goal.

“We had a bit of momentum at that point but we weren’t able to get anything on that power play,” laments Laich. “But still, when that was done we went shorthanded but after that there was still time on the clock where we could get our goalie out and get a sixth attacker. We just weren’t able to get a goal.”

With the game and their season on the line in the third, and needing just a goal for all but 38 seconds of that time, the Caps managed just four shots on goal while New York had 11. Worse, the Rangers had 19 shot attempts to a mere 11 for the Capitals in the final frame. The Caps had managed to tee up at least 20 shots in each of the game’s first two periods.

From the time Hamrlik scored to make it a 2-1 game – a span of 9:17 – the Caps took a total of just four shots, getting two on net. Hendricks got a 42-foot slapper on Lundqvist with 6:34 remaining – a shot that came while Washington was shorthanded – and Semin had a 64-foot wrist-shot on the New York net with 32 seconds remaining. Two other shot tries – from Alzner and John Carlson – were blocked.

“[Lundqvist] was pretty solid tonight,” says Brouwer. “He made big saves for his club, timely saves. We had some good pressure; we had a lot of good shots and a lot of good looks and weren’t able to get by him.

“We had another good push in the third. I know we didn’t have a lot of shots in the third, but we still had a lot of good opportunities. It is what it is.”

The Caps went out with a whimper, and finished the playoffs 0-6 in games in which they gave up the first goal.

Caps goalie Braden Holtby deserved a better fate. He was strong again, stopping 29 of the 31 shots he faced and giving his team a chance to win as he did in all 14 postseason games.

“I’m obviously disappointed,” says Holtby, who allowed two or fewer goals in nine of those 14 games, including five of seven against New York. “We really did believe in here that we had the team to do it all. You look at it, we gave ourselves a great chance. It’s a tough loss. What we can take out of it is that New York is a very good team and we didn’t leave anything on the table.”

Washington won three 2-1 hockey games in its first-round series with the Boston Bruins, including the deciding Game 7 at TD Garden. The Caps were just 1-2 in the three 2-1 games in the series against New York. Washington was unable to close out what should have been a 2-1 win in Game 5. The Rangers scored a power play goal with 7.6 seconds left in regulation and tallied again with the extra man early in overtime of that crucial contest to steal a 3-2 win and a 3-2 lead in the series.

“You think you could have won,” says Knuble. “You think you were right there. You really go home and look in the mirror. Certain times, you get beat in a playoff series and you look in the mirror and you can’t fool yourself. You didn’t have a chance to win that series, ultimately.

“I think our players should be very proud of our effort. We were able to get over the hump against Boston, just couldn’t do it tonight. It was a great run for us and I think all our players should be very proud.”

There were times this season when it seemed unlikely the Caps would even get to the playoffs, and yet they managed to get within a couple of goals of their first trip to the conference final in 14 years. But more was expected of this team when the voyage started last September, and that’s what sticks with Alzner.

“I’m going to view it as an underachieve season in my opinion,” he says. “I know a lot of people don’t feel the same way. The group was extremely good. We were a very good team. A lot of skill, but a good team.

“We didn’t show it during the regular season, but it only mattered come this time, the playoffs. We started playing really well and probably had our worst game in our Game 7, which is very, very unfortunate. We’re probably going to view it as a failure, just because we didn’t do what we thought we could do.”

A Month In The Sun – The Caps’ 2012 playoff run began exactly a month ago in Boston, with a 1-0 overtime loss to the Bruins. The Caps played a total of 14 games in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs, going 7-7. Thirteen of those 14 games were decided by the thinnest of possible margins, one goal.

Washington scored 29 goals, and allowed 30.

Somewhat remarkably, the Caps are exiting despite never having lost consecutive games at any point during the playoffs. Washington won consecutive games just once, when it triumphed in Games 4 and 5 of its first-round series with the Bruins.

“It’s tough,” says Laich. “It’s tough to score. You ask [the Rangers] and they would say the same thing. It’s tough to score. It was a defensive series, the same way the first series was and the same way this series was.

“I think you have to play that way to win. I really do. We’ve shot the lights out for three or four years in the past and we haven’t gotten anywhere. This year I think our identity is a lot more conducive to winning what we want to win. That’s why it’s maybe a little more disappointing.”

Start Me Up – For the second straight game, the home team scored on its first shot on goal of the game. Ovechkin scored a power play goal to give the Caps a 1-0 lead they did not relinquish at 1:28 of the first period in Wednesday’s Game 6 at Verizon Center. Richards’ goal came at the 1:32 mark tonight.

Five-on-Five – New York came into Saturday’s Game 7 with just four goals in five-on-five play over the last 367 minutes and 47 seconds of hockey, dating back to the start of Game 2. Both of New York’s Game 7 strikes came in five-on-five play.

The King – Prior to tonight, Lundqvist had lost two previous playoff series to the Capitals, and he was 0-4 in four separate chances to eliminate the Caps from the postseason, including Game 6 of this series.

Lundqvist has now delivered the Rangers to the third round of the playoffs for the first time in his career. New York had not advanced to the conference final since 1997.

By The Numbers – Carlson led the Caps with 24:14 in ice time … Semin led the way with four shots on net … Ovechkin and Hendricks had four hits to lead Washington … Hamrlik had three blocked shots to top the Capitals … Laich won 11 of the 19 draws (58%) he took … Half of the Caps’ total of six giveaways on the night came during the 1:38 in which they enjoyed the man advantage … Marian Gaborik led the Rangers with six shots on net … Del Zotto led the Blueshirts with eight hits … Marc Staal paced the Rangers with five blocked shots … Ryan McDonagh led New York with 29:37 in ice time.

Three star selections
1st:	HENRIK LUNDQVIST
2nd:	BRAD RICHARDS
3rd:	MICHAEL DEL ZOTTO

Winning Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist

Losing Goaltender Braden Holtby

Denver Slides Past North Carolina (8)

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Following a career game from sophomore midfielder Jeremy Noble, Denver upset eighth-seeded North Carolina 16-14, in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Championship on Saturday

night at Fetzer Field.

Led by Noble, the Pioneers (9-6) saw three different student-athletes record hat tricks. Noble set a Denver Division I single-game record tallying 10 points on a career-high seven assists and three goals. Senior Mark Matthews tied a career-high with five goals, while freshman Wes Berg netted three goals and added two assists for five points.

Senior Alex Demopoulos got into the action with three points, on two goals and an assist, while junior Eric Law recorded two goals, including the final in the last second. Junior midfielder Cameron Flint capped off the scoring by adding a goal.

Redshirt-sophomore Drew Babb assisted on the game-clinching goal. Junior midfielder Chase Carraro also added an assist to go along with converting on 22-of-30 successful faceoffs for the Pioneers, tying his career-high.

After North Carolina cut Denver’s lead to 15-14 with 48 seconds left in the game, the Tar Heels regained possession and looked to score the game-tying goal. Following a UNC timeout, sophomore defensemen John Zurlo forced a turnover, grabbing the groundball and relaying the pass to Babb who found a streaking Law for the open-net goal as time expired, sealing the victory for the Pioneers.

In a game that saw three ties and five lead changes, the Pioneers were able to regain the lead for good at the end of the third quarter, scoring eight goals in the final half after tallying 11 alone in the second quarter.

Ravens Land WR Jacoby Jones

The Ravens have hauled in a returner and wide receiver.

Baltimore has agreed to terms on a two-year deal with former Texan Jacoby Jones. The deal is reportedly worth $7 million.

“Adding Jacoby gives us another proven down-field weapon in our passing game and production with our returns,” General Manger Ozzie Newsome said. “His experience makes the offense better, and the competition he brings can help raise our levels at receiver and with punt and kickoff returns.”

 Two of Jones’ former teammates who are now Ravens, fullback Vonta Leach and safety Bernard Pollard, expressed congratulatory messages via Twitter.

“Congrats to my boy @jacoby_jones12 he is a raven (let’s eat),” Leach said.

Jones is a proven special–teams returner for the Ravens, who are looking to take cornerback Lardarius Webb off those duties and have top kick returner David Reed returning from knee surgery.

Jones returned 49 punts last year for a 10.6-yard average, including a 79-yard touchdown. He didn’t return kickoffs last season, but has 64 career returns for a 23.3-yard average and one touchdown.

Ravens fans may remember Jones, however, for fumbling a punt in the AFC divisional playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium last season that led to a Baltimore touchdown.

A third-round pick in 2007, Jones also adds more competition to the Ravens’ No. 3 wide receiver battle. In 10 starts and 16 games played last year, Jones caught 31 passes for 512 yards and two touchdowns. His career high was in 2010 when he snagged 51 balls for 562 yards and three scores.

He caught four passes for 76 yards against Baltimore in Week 6, including a 32-yard touchdown in which he got behind safety Ed Reed.

The 6-foot-2, 212-pounder is an explosive downfield threat who will compete with Tandon Doss, LaQuan Williams, David Reed and Tommy Streeter.

The Ravens tried to ink wide receiver/returner Tedd Ginn Jr. in the first phase of free agency before the draft, but he opted to re-sign with the San Francisco 49ers.

Jones was cut by the Texans after the team drafted wide receivers DeVier Posey and Keshawn Martin in the third and fourth rounds, respectively.

Caps Defeat Rangers 2-1 (Game 5)

Don’t Bury Them Cuz They’re Not Dead Yet – There will be a Game 7 in New York On Saturday. The Washington Capitals ensured as much with a 2-1 win over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series between the two teams.

Alex Ovechkin’s power play goal at 1:28 of the first period put the Capitals on top 1-0, and Washington maintained the lead for the remainder of the game, the longest any team has owned a lead continuously in any of the Capitals’ 13 postseason games this spring.

Using his world-class wheels, Caps left wing Jason Chimera drew the penalty on which Ovechkin scored, a tripping call on New York blueliner Anton Stralman. Chimera later chipped in with a goal of his own, his third of the series.

Ovechkin was moved down low on the power play from his customary point spot; and he drifted into the slot for a feed fromNicklas Backstrom and fired a one-timer over the glove hand of New York netminder Henrik Lundqvist.

“It’s just one of those changes we make,” says Caps coach Dale Hunter of the power play alignment. We thought that Ovi, with his big shot, could get a shot off. On the play, one of their players [Ryan Callahan] fell and really left an opening and a shot from there by Ovi doesn’t miss very often.”

Washington has now rebounded from four straight overtime losses – the last two of them in this series, and both of them sheer and utter heart-breakers – with wins in each of the games immediately following. The Caps have yet to lose consecutive contests in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Twenty-two-year-old rookie Caps goaltender Braden Holtby has now gone 29 straight starts without losing consecutive games, a streak that dates back to November of 2010.

New York’s Marian Gaborik spoiled Holtby’s shutout bid with a goal in the final minute of the game, a one-timer from the right dot.

Holtby made 30 saves on the night to outduel Lundqvist (21 saves), who was excellent in keeping the Rangers within striking distance all night.

Holtby’s 863 postseason minutes are tops among all NHL netminders. He has a 1.95 GAA and a .935 save pct. in his 13 starts this spring.

   “We don’t want to stop playing,” says Ovechkin, of the Caps forcing a Game 7. “We don’t want to finish the season. We knew we could beat them. It was very intense. Their top [defensemen] played lots of minutes. We are going to have our chances. We had our chances, but Lundqvist played unbelievable again in the third period. Same as Holtby.”

Getting By – Washington scored two or fewer goals in 35 of its 82 regular season games in 2011-12. The Capitals were just 6-26-3 in those contests.

The Caps have scored two or fewer goals eight times in their 13 playoff games to date this spring, and they are 4-4 in those eight games.

Strive For Five-on-Five – New York’s only goal of the game came in the final minute of regulation with Lundqvist pulled for an extra attacker.

The Rangers scored three five-on-five goals in their 3-1 win over Washington in Game 1 of this series. They have managed just four goals in 5-on-5 play over the last 367 minutes and 46 seconds of play since.

New York is currently without a 5-on-5 tally in the last 109 minutes and 16 seconds of the series. The Rangers went 186 minutes and 11 seconds without a 5-on-5 strike earlier in the series, a streak that ended with Gaborik’s game-winner late in the third overtime period of Game 3.

Goose Egg Redemption – Ovechkin didn’t register a goal in Monday’s Game 5; it was just the second time in 49 postseason games and the sixth time in 602 career NHL contests including the regular season that he failed to record a shot on goal in a game.

Ovechkin scored on his first shot in Wednesday’s game. In the six games following those six shotless games, he now has totaled five goals and five assists for 10 points. He has taken a total of 38 shots in those six games.

Ovechkin’s goal tonight was the 30th of his Stanley Cup playoff career and it came in his 50th game. He has matched Peter Bondra’s Washington franchise record for career playoff goals; Bondra had 30 goals in 73 career playoff contests.

Ovechkin is the first NHL player since Joe Sakic to net 30 playoff goals in his first 50 postseason games.

Blueshirt Beater – Chimera has five goals in 11 career playoff games against Lundqvist and the Rangers. He has two playoff goals in 24 games against the rest of the NHL.

Chimera’s four playoff goals this spring are second on the club only to Ovechkin’s five.

Four of Chimera’s seven career playoff goals have been game-winners, and three of those have come at New York’s expense.

Prosperity – When Chimera scored to make it 2-0 at 10:59 of the second period, it marked the first time Washington had owned a two-goal since the first period of Game 2 of their series against the Rangers. It was just the third two-goal lead Washington has enjoyed at any point in the 13 games they’ve played in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The Caps managed to protect that two-goal lead into the final minute of regulation, so they owned a two-goal advantage for a total of 28 minutes and 10 seconds in Game 6. That’s more time than Boston, Washington and New York had in combined two-goal lead time in the Capitals’ first dozen playoff games this spring (16 minutes, 27 seconds).

Leading Men – The Capitals led for 58 minutes and 32 seconds in Wednesday’s Game 6. That’s longer than any team has held a lead continuously in any single Caps playoff game this spring.

It’s also longer than the Boston Bruins owned a lead in the seven games combined in Washington’s first-round series (44 minutes, 23 seconds).

Winning At Home – The Caps are now 3-3 on home ice in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs. Each of their home wins has been a significant one; they won Game 4 in each series to avoid falling into a 3-1 series hole each time, and won Game 6 on Wednesday to avoid the end of their season.

Dodging The Wednesday Bullet – Each of the Capitals’ three previous playoff exits – in 2009, 2010 and 2011 – came on a Wednesday night.

Not on this Wednesday night, this spring.
First Strike – The Capitals are now 7-1 in playoff games in which they’ve scored the first goal this spring. Washington is 0-5 in games in which it has not tallied first.

Special Delivery – The Caps got Ovechkin’s early power play goal and went 1-for-3 with the extra man on the night. They are now 4-for-19 (21.1%) on the power play in this series and 7-for-38 (18.4%) in the postseason. That’s the fifth best power-play efficiency rate among the 16 playoff teams this spring.

The Caps successfully snuffed all five New York power play chances, and are now 19-for-23 (82.6) on the kill in this series. Washington is now 40-for-46 (87%) on the penalty kill in the 2012 playoffs. That’s good for sixth best among all the playoff entrants.

Washington owns a special teams index (power play percentage plus penalty kill percentage) of 103.7 in the series and 105.4 for the playoffs to date.

A Man Down – Washington played without center Jay Beagle in Wednesday’s Game 6. Beagle did not take the morning skate prior to Game 6, but the Caps believed he would be able to play – and informed the media as much – right up until just before warm-ups.

Beagle has a lower body injury and is day-to-day. His ailment did not respond to treatment as he and the training staff had hoped, so he was held out despite being partially dressed and hopeful of trying to play.

Back In The Saddle Again – Beagle’s absence meant that veteran pivot Jeff Halpern got a sweater for the first time in the 2012 playoffs and for the first time since a March 23 regular season game against the Winnipeg Jets at Verizon Center.

Halpern skated 10:23 in his return to the lineup, recorded a shot on goal, took a double-minor for high-sticking, and won seven of the 13 face-offs (54%) he took on the night.

For Halpern, tonight was his first playoff game in a Capitals sweater since April 20, 2003, the day the Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated the Capitals from the 2003 Stanley Cup playoffs on a Martin St. Louis power-play goal in triple-overtime.

Including tonight’s game against the Rangers, Halpern has appeared in 18 career playoff games for Washington. He has totaled four goals and nine points. Two of those goals came on the power play and two were game-winners.

Most notably, Halpern scored an overtime game-winner over the Penguins in Game 4 of the 2001 Eastern Conference quarterfinal series on April 18, 2001.

By The Numbers – Since 2008, the Caps are now 4-0 in Game 6 when facing elimination … Karl Alzner led the Caps with 23:13 in ice time … Chimera paced the Caps with five shots on net … Ovechkin led the Caps with five hits … The Caps blocked 24 shots to New York’s six. Twelve of Washington’s 18 skaters blocked at least one shot.Dennis Wideman led the way with four … Washington won 38 of the game’s 65 draws (58%).

Three star selections
1st:	BRADEN HOLTBY
2nd:	ALEX OVECHKIN
3rd:	JASON CHIMERA

Winning Goaltender Braden Holtby

Losing Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist

Meek Mill – Dreamchasers 2 (Mixtape)

Following up his critically-acclaimed mixtape, Dreamchasers, MMG’s resident hit-man, Meek Mill, delivers the follow-up to his 2011 effort. Meek Mill, born Robert Williams, takes the route of his The Boss Rick Ross, delivering a tape reminiscent of Rich Forever, full of album-quality material and features from hip-hop’s biggest starts. A complete tracklist can be found after the flip but you will find Drake, Rick Ross, Big Sean, Wale, Kendrick Lamar, 2 Chainz, Fabolous, Mac Miller, and more on the latest from Meek. Dream & Nightmares coming this summer. Enjoy..

Meek Mill – Dreamchasers 2 (Mixtape) [click to download]

Meek Mill – Dreamchasers 2 (Mixtape) [click to download]

Caps And Rangers Down to a Best-of-Three (Game 7 Preview)

May 7 vs. New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden
Time: 7:30 pm
TV: NBCSN
Radio: 1500AM, 820AM, XM and Caps Radio Network
Pre-Game: Two-Man Advantage at 3 p.m., John Walton’s one-on-one audio with Dale Hunter at 3 p.m. on washingtoncaps.com.

Washington Capitals (42-32-8), 92 points
New York Rangers (51-24-7), 109 points

Game 5, Eastern Conference semifinal series (Series is even, 2-2) 

Four games into the Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers, the set is all even. The two teams split the first two games in New York, and they split the last two games in Washington. With the series now down to a best-of-three set, the two clubs are set to do battle again in New York for Game 5 on Monday night at Madison Square Garden.

After the Rangers won a grueling, triple-overtime affair by a 2-1 count on Wednesday night, the Caps drew even in the series with a 3-2 win on Saturday. Washington scored the game’s first goal when Alex Ovechkin scored past the midpoint of the first period, and the two teams traded tallies the rest of the way.

Nicklas Backstrom scored for Washington in the second period, and Mike Green won it for the Capitals with 5:48 left in the third. After three of Washington’s big offensive guns struck for the first time in the same game in the 2012 playoffs to give the Caps a lead, coach Dale Hunter entrusted the finish to his foot soldiers, who were more than up to the task.

“Everybody is battling out there,” says Hunter. “[Saturday] we got some big goals from our big guys, and we need that. And we got shot-blocking from the guys and good defensive play and our [defensemen] are playing [well]. That’s what it takes to win; it takes the whole team. You always need your foot soldiers to score big goals and they’ve been doing that. That’s how you win in the playoffs.”

Goaltender Braden Holtby made 18 stops and the Caps combined to block another 26 New York shot bids in Saturday’s win. From the time that Green scored, the Rangers fired eight shot attempts. Only two got through to Holtby, the other six were blocked in front.

“Those are important minutes for guys like us and our role on this team and what we do,” says Caps forward Matt Hendricks, who was on the ice for more than half of the 5:48 that remained when Green scored the go-ahead goal.”To get out there and solidify the win along with our defensive core and Holtsy, it’s a great feeling. It’s a great feeling to know that you did your job, you played your role well and it pays off at the end of the game when you’re rewarded with that ice time.”

Holtby has now gone 27 straight starts without losing successive starts, dating back to November of 2010.

“He’s mentally tough,” says Hunter of Holtby. “To play goal and play at this level you have to be. He’s young still, and he’s confident. He’s mentally tough, that’s why he can do what he can do.”

Green’s game-winner came on the power play, and it was just the Capitals’ fifth power-play goal in 11 games in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs. But four of those power play strikes have been game-winners. All four came in the 39th minute of the game or later and all four were the final goal of the game.

Among the 16 playoff teams, the Caps rank eighth in power play efficiency with a success rate of 16.1%. Four of the seven teams in front of Washington on that list have already been eliminated from the postseason.

The Caps only had two power play chances in Saturday’s Game 4, but they had six shots on net and numerous chances on their first extra-man opportunity, and then Green cashed in just 27 seconds into the second one.

“It’s a reward for better work on the power play,” says Caps center Brooks Laich. “The game before, we did some things that were all right on the power play. But our power play [on Saturday], you could tell from the first power play we had in the game that it was sharp. The passes were direct and there were chances and shots. That first power play looked really sharp. And then we got another one, and we got a goal. It’s a result of better work on the power play.”

Washington also scored the game’s first goal in Saturday’s Game 3, raising its record to 6-1 in games in which it scores first and 2-3 in games played at Verizon Center. The Caps are 0-4 when they give up the game’s first goal and 4-2 on the road in the playoffs this spring.
“I think that’s been our goal every game,” says Caps defenseman John Carlson, “to try to jump out and get the momentum whether we’re at home or on the road and obviously to try to get the first goal. We executed that part of the game plan and everything else just fell into place.”

The Caps have not had an easy time of things offensively in this series. They’ve scored only eight goals in the four games in this series against New York netminder Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist, a finalist for both the Vezina and Hart Trophies for 2011-12, is second in the NHL with a 1.68 GAA and a .940 save pct. in 11 postseason games. He has surrendered a total of just 12 goals and has allowed two or fewer tallies in seven of those 11 games.

On the other side of the ledger the Caps have permitted just nine goals in four games with the Rangers and just 24 goals in 11 playoff games to date this spring. The Caps have not been able to completely bottle up New York’s top two offensive talents.

Marian Gaborik has had a point in all four games, and he has scored in each of the last two. Gaborik supplied the game-winner in New York’s triple-overtime triumph in Game 3. Like Gaborik, Brad Richards has two goals and two assists in the series.

Washington has been effective at getting in New York’s shooting lanes and blocking shots. In two of the four games in the series to date – including Game 4 – the Caps blocked more shots than the Rangers managed to put on Holtby. Thus far in the series, the Rangers have a total of 111 shots on goal while Washington has blocked 105 intended New York shots.

Mens NCAA Lacrosse 2012 Bracket Selection

With DI three games on the docket for the final day of the regular season, this is the final installment of Bracketology as we’re about 12 hours out of knowing what the tournament field will look like.

The craziness of the first half of the week slowed down in the second half, though Yale’s knocking Cornell out of the Ivy League Tournament in the semifinals made waves around the lacrosse world.

However, as the tournament-bound field becomes clearer, filling out the bracket becomes more difficult. So many of the host teams are located pretty far south, while the bulk of the unseeded teams are located pretty far north. It creates a lot of jerrymandering to keep travel costs down. It wouldn’t be a huge surprise for some bracket changeups to be the result of travel problems.

Below, we view each of the conferences with automatic bids (which excludes the ACC and NEC this year, and Lehigh has already secured the Patriot League) and discuss the teams in contention. We also look at the at-large bids, the last teams likely to make it to the NCAA Tournament, and the first few out.

While the Division I Men’s Lacrosse Committee considers a wide array of factors, the discussion below considers record, strength of schedule, head-to-head results and significant wins and losses.

Update, 3:00 p.m. Sunday

Well, the craziness is back. Yale’s win over Princeton and Canisius’s win over Siena were both nominal and, to varying degrees, actual upsets. Both the automatic qualifers, bubble sections and tournament field are updated below.

AUTOMATIC QUALIFIERS

Loyola and UMass are sure hosts and could host one of the weaker AQs, Lehigh is likely — but not assured — to host. Yale, Syracuse, Stony Brook and Canisius will be on the road in round one.

Loyola (14-1, ECAC AQ)
RPI: 1
Top 5 Ws: Duke
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: Ohio State, Fairfield, Denver, Denver, Fairfield

UMass (15-0, CAA AQ)
RPI: 2
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: Bucknell, Ohio State, Penn State, Drexel, Drexel

Lehigh (14-2, Patriot AQ)
RPI: 6
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: Colgate
Top 20 Ws: North Carolina, Penn State, Bucknell, Yale

Yale (11-4, Ivy AQ)
RPI: 12
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: Princeton
Top 20 Ws: Cornell

Syracuse (9-7, Big East AQ)
RPI: 18
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: Princeton
Top 20 Ws: None

Stony Brook (7-9, America East AQ)
RPI: 35
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: None

Canisius (6-7, MAAC AQ)
RPI: 42
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: None

AT LARGE

The at-large locks haven’t lost a team since the first Bracketology in mid-April, and it’s now safe to add Colgate to the category. In fact, depending on the emphasis for selection criteria, it’s not impossible to imagine Lehigh and Colgate hosting first round games, though it’s unlikely as North Carolina, previously the closest to dropping out of the top eight, picked up a top 10 win when Princeton replaced the Tar Heels in the RPI top 10.

Notre Dame (11-2)
RPI: 5
Top 5 Ws: Duke
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: Drexel, Denver, Ohio State, Syracuse

Duke (13-4)
RPI: 4
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: Virginia, Maryland
Top 20 Ws: North Carolina, North Carolina, Syracuse

North Carolina (11-5)
RPI: 11
Top 5 Ws: Johns Hopkins
Top 10 Ws: Virginia, Maryland, Princeton
Top 20 Ws: Penn State

Johns Hopkins (11-3)
RPI: 3
Top 5 Ws: Loyola
Top 10 Ws: Virginia
Top 20 Ws: Syracuse, Princeton

Colgate (13-3)
RPI: 8
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: Lehigh, Maryland
Top 20 Ws: Fairfield, Bucknell, Bucknell

Virginia (11-3)
RPI: 7
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: Maryland
Top 20 Ws: North Carolina, Syracuse, Ohio State, Cornell, Drexel

Maryland (9-5)
RPI: 9
Top 5 Ws: Duke, Johns Hopkins
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: None

BUBBLE IN

If the field holds this way and Penn State and Denver are the last teams in off the bubble, it’s amazing to consider how expectations impact a team’s season. Denver, coming off of a run to Championship Weekend, have been at least moderately disappointing in going 8-6. Penn State, in their second season under coach Jeff Tambroni and two seasons removed from going 2-11, would consider an at-large bid a huge success.

Penn State (9-6)
RPI: 16
Top 5 Ws: Notre Dame
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: Ohio State, Drexel

Denver (8-6)
RPI: 14
Top 5 Ws: Duke
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: Penn State

BUBBLE OUT

There was a strong reaction that Cornell was eliminated from contention with their loss to Yale in the Ivy League semifinals. I don’t think that’s true; the Big Red and Wildcats have a strong argument for inclusion. However, RPI top 5 wins have been a trump card in the past, so that — coupled with Penn State’s and Denver’s better strength of schedule — probably means the Nittany Lions and Pioneers get in. With Princeont joining that mix, it’s likely that the same rules apply. The Tigers’ resume would be enough to beat out Cornell (particularly because of the head-to-head win), but may not be enough to top Penn State and Villanova.

All that said, the five team bubble is very close, and the committee could probably have a sound argument for selecting any two.

Princeton (11-4)
RPI: 10
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: Yale, Cornell

Cornell (9-4)
RPI: 14
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: Denver, Syracuse, Yale

Villanova (8-7)
RPI: 21
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: Lehigh
Top 20 Ws: Syracuse, Bucknell, Drexel

OUT

The next group of teams had fine seasons and might be in the bubble conversation if there were four spots instead of two, but are likely behind the three teams currently on the “Bubble Out.”

Fairfield (12-4)
RPI: 13
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: Denver, Ohio State

Bucknell (9-7)
RPI: 20
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: Penn State, Drexel

Ohio State (8-7)
RPI: 19
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: Denver, Fairfield

Navy (6-6)
RPI: 22
Top 5 Ws: Johns Hopkins
Top 10 Ws: Colgate
Top 20 Ws: None

Drexel (8-8)
RPI: 17
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: Penn State

Robert Morris (11-4)
RPI: 23
Top 5 Ws: None
Top 10 Ws: None
Top 20 Ws: Ohio State

TOURNAMENT FIELD

1 Loyola
Canisius

8 Lehigh
Maryland

4 Notre Dame
Denver

5 Duke
Penn State

6 North Carolina
Syracuse

3 UMass
Yale

7 Virginia
Colgate

2 Johns Hopkins
Stony Brook

Capitals 3, Rangers 2 (Series even after game 4)

Power Surge – The Washington Capitals have scored a total of just five power play goals in their 11 postseason games this spring, contrast that to 2008 when they were 8-for-35 (22.7%) with the extra man in their first-round playoffs series – a loss in seven games – with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Mike Green’s power-play goal with 5:48 left in the third period was the difference in Saturday’s colossal 3-2 win over the New York Rangers, a victory that evened the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series between the two teams at two games apiece. Green’s goal was the fifth of those power-play strikes this spring, and it came in Washington’s sixth playoff win in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Green’s goal was also the fourth game-winning power-play goal the Caps have scored in those six wins. All four came in the 39th minute of the game or later – three of them in the third period – and all four were the last goal scored in the game.

“I knew that I had some time to wind up and shoot,” says Green of the game-winner. “Their forwards collapsed to the other side and Dennis [Wideman] made a great play over. I just had to wait out that [defenseman] for the block. He came across, I just held onto it and was lucky enough to get it through.”

The Caps and Rangers traded goals in Saturday’s Game 4, some 60 hours after New York had prevailed in a 2-1 triple-overtime win in Wednesday’s Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead. If there were any lingering after-effects from that Wednesday loss, the Caps didn’t show it. They roared out of the gates in the first on Saturday, outshooting the Rangers 14-3 and blocking nine New York shots.

“It’s mentally important I think,” says Caps center Nicklas Backstrom of the win, “Especially after that long game the other night. We came back. We started off aggressive I think, and it’s real important that we got this win.”

Washington grabbed a 1-0 lead on Alex Ovechkin’s fourth goal of the playoffs at 12:43 of the first. Ovechkin fired a Chris Kreider giveaway high to the glove side on New York netminder Henrik Lundqvist, and the puck glanced off his glove and fell behind him into the net.

The Rangers answered early in the second when a Dan Girardi point shot got through the Washington defense and came to Rangers forward Artem Anisimov, who had snuck behind the Caps’ defense. Anisimov calmly put the puck into a yawning cage behind goaltender Braden Holtby, who had gone down to play the Girardi shot.

Washington bounced back at 11:54 of the second on a brilliant individual effort from Backstrom. Protecting the puck in the right wing corner of the Rangers’ zone, Backstrom fought off Anisimov by dropping him to the ice, then he deflected a half-hearted check from New York blueliner Anton Stralman. At that point, Backstrom sent the puck behind the New York net and went to the slot.

No one picked him up, and seconds later Backstrom fired high to the glove side on Lundqvist, beating his fellow Swede off a strong feed from Jason Chimera.

New York’s Marian Gaborik – who scored the triple-overtime game-winner on Wednesday – tied the score late in the second when the Caps were lulled into thinking an icing call was impending. Anisimov got to the puck first, and threw it in front where Gaborik scored from virtually the same spot where he had struck in Game 3.

The two sides grinded their way through the third, and it seemed like another overtime session might be in the offing. But New York’s Carl Hagelin was whistled for slashing Caps defenseman John Carlson at the Washington line. Twenty-seven seconds later, Green took a pass from Dennis Wideman and drilled it past Lundqvist for what would prove to be the game-winning tally.

Holtby needed to make only 18 saves to earn the win.

Washington’s skilled players scored the goals and forged a one-goal lead for the team three times.

“We needed that tonight,” says Holtby of the contributions from the Caps’ star players. “In the past, we’ve kind of been relying on our character guys. It’s great to see those guys have a good game, especially Greenie. He’s been working hard and doing all the little things right. To see him rewarded on the stats sheet is huge.”

As was the case in the Capitals’ first-round series against Boston, Washington won Game 4 to even the series, force a Game 6 in the District and shrink the set to a best-of-three.

Game 5 is in New York on Monday night.

Redemption – The Caps’ checking line of Jay Beagle, Matt Hendricks and Troy Brouwer and its top defensive duo of John Carlson and Karl Alzner have all performed at the top of their respective games throughout the 11 games of the postseason to date. Those five players were on the ice for Gaborik’s game-winner on Wednesday, but that goal was more due to excellent execution on New York’s part than on a mistake or lack of coverage on Washington’s part.

Still, it stuck in the craw of those players that they hadn’t been able to prevent that goal. On Saturday, they gained a measure of redemption.

From the time Green’s goal gave the Caps a 3-2 lead with 5:48 remaining, Hendricks played 3:24, Beagle played 3:16, and Brouwer skated 3:10. Alzner logged 4:17 in the game’s final 5:48 and Carlson 3:42.

Hendricks blocked a shot and won three draws in that span. Beagle won two defensive zone draws in the final minute.

“It was just a little bit of redemption,” says Beagle of being a key factor in protecting Washington’s late lead today. “That third overtime goal [on Wednesday], I took it upon myself. To be out there at the end and get the win for the guys was a great feeling.”

With the game on the line, New York had two shots on net in the final 5:48 and the Rangers had another six shot bids blocked.

“We’re grinding everything out right now,” says Holtby, “as the last five minutes or so showed. We had a goal tonight and we accomplished it.”

Just like in Game 4 of the Boston series, Hunter’s skilled players forged a lead, and his foot soldiers protected it to even the series.

“Everybody has their roles and you’ve seen the guys blocking shots,” says the Caps coach. “The big guns scored some big goals and the foot soldiers blocked shots. We played good defense.”

Still Going – Holtby has extended his streak to 27 straight starts without losing back-to-back NHL starts in the playoffs and the regular season. The streak dates back to November of 2010, weeks after he made his NHL debut.

Getting In The Way – The Rangers were fourth in the league with 1,338 blocked shots during the regular season while the Caps were close behind, sixth with 1,302.

Washington blocked 26 shots today – eight more than Holtby saved – while New York blocked seven.

Coming into this series, the Rangers led all NHL teams in postseason blocked shots. As of today, the Capitals have overtaken them by a 244-232 margin in that department.

Young Guns Blazing – Today marked the 48th postseason game in the Capitals’ “Young Guns” era, since the foursome of Backstrom, Green, Ovechkin and Alexander Semin played in their first NHL Stanley Cup playoff game on the same night in April, 2008.

Today marked the eighth time in those 48 games that Washington has gotten as many as three goals from the Young Guns in the same playoff game. The Caps are 7-1 in those games.

Today marked the third time in those 48 games that any three different Young Guns have scored in the same playoff game. The Caps are 3-0 in those games.

“Young Guns, yeah,” says Green sarcastically. “We’re not so young anymore. We needed to step up. It was important that we got a win tonight in our building and we’re the guys who need to start scoring.”

First Strike – For the first time since Game 3 of their first-round series with the Boston Bruins, the Capitals scored the game’s first goal in a home game on Saturday afternoon. The Caps are now 6-1 in games in which they score the first goal in the 2012 playoffs. They’re 0-4 when the opposition strikes first.

Team Win – Six different Caps were involved in the scoring of Washington’s three goals today. Eleven different players blocked at least one shot, and 11 players delivered at least one hit. Washington win 30 of the 55 face-offs on the day, with Hendricks winning all nine he took to lead the way.

“The wagons got the job done with blocked shots at the end,” says Green. “Just a great team effort.”

Positive Touch – Caps defenseman Roman Hamrlik was a plus-2 on Saturday. He is now a team-leading plus-8 in 11 postseason games, tied for tops in the NHL with the Kings’ Dustin Brown and the Predators’ Francois Bouillon.

Making The Most Of The Least – Caps right wing Joel Ward picked up an assist on Backstrom’s goal, his fifth point (one goal, four assists) of the postseason.

Ward has averaged 10:45 per game in ice time, last among the 16 Capitals that have played in at least 10 playoff games this spring. But Ward’s total of five points is tied for third on the team in the playoffs.

Six Pack – Green became the sixth different Capital to supply a game-winning goal this spring, joining Backstrom, Semin, Brouwer, Ward and Ovechkin on that list.

Climbing The Ladder – Ovechkin’s goal was the 29th of his Stanley Cup playoff career and it came in his 48th postseason game. He is now one goal behind Peter Bondra (30 goals in 73 games) for the all-time franchise lead in that department.

Ovechkin now has 57 career playoff points (29 goals, 28 assists), one more than Bondra had. Ovechkin ranks third on Washington’s all-time playoff scoring list behind Hunter (72 points in 100 games) and Mike Ridley (60 points in 76 games).

Special Delivery – Both Washington and New York had two power play chances in Saturday’s game. The Caps fired seven shots on net with the extra man, with Green scoring on the last of those. The Rangers had just two power play shots on goal.

In the first of their power play chances, the Caps had six shots on net and made 17 offensive-zone passes. Only Lundqvist’s stellar work in the crease kept them from finding the range.

“We’re trying to get pucks to the net more than usual,” says Hunter of the Washington power play. “Tonight we only had two [chances] but we worked it around and had some good scoring chances on it.”

The Capitals are now 2-for-12 and the Rangers 2-for-13 on the power play in this series.

Easing Off – In Game 2 of this series, New York defensemen Michael Del Zotto, Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal each played at least 25 minutes. In Wednesday’s marathon game, each of those three and Girardi skated at least 43 minutes.

Coming into Saturday’s Game 4, both Girardi and McDonagh were averaging better than 28 minutes a night in the postseason while Staal was at 25:34 and Del Zotto at 23:14. Fifth defenseman Stralman was at 17 minutes while No. 6 Stu Bickel was at 4:35. Bickel played just three shifts – none of them after the second period – in Wednesday’s 114-minute, 14-second affair.

Rangers coach John Tortorella used Stralman for 17:55 and Bickel for 7:02 in Saturday’s game. It was the second-highest ice time Bickel has had in 11 games in these playoffs and the third highest for Stralman.

McDonagh played 21:54, his lowest figure of the postseason. Girardi played 22:46, his second-lowest total of the postseason.

By The Numbers – Alzner led the Capitals in ice time with 22:09 … Ovechkin and Semin led the way with four shots on net each … Jeff Schultz led the Caps with nine blocked shots in 14:25 of ice time … Semin led the Caps with 10 shot attempts … The Rangers outhit the Caps 33-24 … Washington had 17 giveaways to New York’s six.

Three star selections
1st:	MIKE GREEN
2nd:	NICKLAS BACKSTROM
3rd:	ARTEM ANISIMOV

Winning Goaltender Braden Holtby

Losing Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist

STATS

Rangers 2, Capitals 1 ; 3OT

Marathon Men – Game 3 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series between the Capitals and the New York Rangers started on Wednesday night and ended on Thursday morning. That’s when New York’s Marian Gaborik got just enough time and space in the slot to convert a quick centering feed from Brad Richards behind the Washington net. Gaborik’s shot hit the stick blade of Caps goalie Braden Holtby and went through his legs and into the net.

Gaborik’s goal came with 5:19 remaining in the third overtime session gave the Rangers a 2-1 win in a thrilling contest and a 2-1 lead in the series.

“It’s a loss,” says Holtby. “It’s no different than any other one. A hard fought battle. We will be ready for the next game. It was a good game.”

For Gaborik, the goal was his second of the playoffs and first in his last nine games.

“It was a long game,” says Gaborik. “We were talking about staying with the system and make sure we keep it simple. It was about will. We wanted to win this game. It was great to get the win.”

Game 4 is on Saturday afternoon in Washington.

Both teams had ample chances to end the proceedings earlier, with Washington having the best of those opportunities going back to regulation. Caps winger Troy Brouwer missed wide on a strong chance in the first overtime, and Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin hit the right post on a shot minutes later.
Rangers winger Mike Rupp fired a shot from in tight in the second overtime that likely would have gone in, except it hit teammate Brian Boyle in the backside. New York had a power play opportunity late in the first overtime and had another extra-man chance early in the third overtime session.

“We had our chances,” says Caps forward Matt Hendricks. “We had some really good opportunities; a couple of posts. We just didn’t find the back of the net and they got the last bounce, so it’s what we expected against the Rangers. We expected this tight checking hockey. They had a power-play goal tonight too, we didn’t have one, so that was the difference.”

From the start of the contest at 7:40 on Wednesday night to the end 14 minutes past midnight, this one was vastly different from the first two games of the series. Both sides skated well and hard, and there weren’t many whistles. There were long stretches of play featuring changes on the fly, some long and arduous shifts and back and forth action unencumbered by face-offs.

Most of New York’s chances came from extended possession in the attack zone; the Rangers were very strong with their cycle game and often had the Caps chasing them for extended stretches of time. Most of Washington’s best chances came off the rush.

Ryan Callahan gave New York a 1-0 lead on a power play goal at 6:41 of the second period and Washington’sJohn Carlson tied it with a goal-scorer’s goal off a brilliant individual effort less than five minutes later.

The two teams played 83 minutes and 31 seconds of scoreless hockey between Carlson’s goal and Gaborik’s game-winner. New York had 49 shots on net to Washington’s 46, but the capitals fired more shot attempts than New York, 115-107. The Caps blocked 41 shots to New York’s 40.

“I think my entire body is just tired right now,” says winning Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. “I just want to lay down and relax and get a massage. My neck is hurting. It’s just a great feeling. That’s the toughest thing – it’s in your head. After the fourth period I think it’s all in your head. It’s not so much your technique or your physique – it’s just ‘how much can you push yourself?’”

Washington is now in familiar territory. The Caps were down 2-1 in their first-round series against Boston going into Game 4.

“It’s tough,” says Hendricks. “You invest a lot every night, no matter what; if it’s a 60-minute game or extended into overtime. When you extend into overtime you are investing more and more and you are putting everything you’ve got into it. Unfortunately, we didn’t win tonight, but we can’t let that bother us. We just need to get prepared for the next one.”

Holtby has not lost consecutive games in a span of 26 NHL starts including the playoffs, a streak that dates back to November, 2010. The Caps will be counting on him to keep that streak going in Saturday’s Game 4.

“That’s my job,” says Holtby. “My job is to stop pucks and to win games. I believe if I focus on every shot and play to the best of my abilities, with the group we have, I am confident that we will win four games out of seven.”

History – For the Capitals, Wednesday’s game was the their third longest Stanley Cup playoff contest in franchise history and their longest since a quadruple overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1996.

It was the fourth time in franchise history that a Caps playoff game went to three or more overtimes. All four of those games were played in the District and all were Washington losses. Two were played at the Capitals’ original Capital Centre/USAir Arena home and two have been played in the team’s current home on F Street.

Tortorella was behind the bench for the last triple-overtime game played at verizon Center more than nine years ago. The Rangers bench boss was at the helm of the Tampa Bay Lightning in those days, and his team prevailed in triple-overtime on Easter Sunday of 2003, thanks to a Martin St. Louis power play goal that came courtesy of a too many men on the ice call against Washington. That loss gave the Lightning the series and eliminated the Caps from the playoffs.

For the Rangers, Wednesday’s game was its first triple-overtime tilt since Pete Stemkowski’s goal at 1:29 of the third overtime defeated the Chicago Blackhawks on April 29, 1971. That was Stemkowski’s second overtime game-winner of that series.

Wednesday’s game was the fourth longest in New York’s storied franchise history, and the longest since March 21, 1939 when Boston’s Mel “Sudden Death” Hill scored at 59:25 of overtime – just prior to the end of the third overtime session – to beat the Blueshirts. That was the first of three overtime game-winning goals for Hill in that series.

No Whistle Stop – There were “only” 94 face-offs in the 114 minutes and 41 seconds of hockey played at Verizon Center in Game 3. There were only 14 draws in the third period and in the second overtime.

Long Time Coming – Gaborik’s goal ended a stretch of 186 minutes and 11 seconds in which New York had not scored a goal in five-on-five play. That streak dated back to the middle of the third period of Game 1 when Richards scored for the Rangers.

Streaks Stopped – New York’s overtime win ended a string of seven straight overtime losses in Stanley Cup play for the Rangers. The victory also halted a five-game postseason losing streak for New York in games played at Verizon Center, and it ended a streak in which the Rangers had scored one or zero goals in six straight Stanley Cup playoff games at Verizon Center.

Forgotten Man – Rangers’ sixth defenseman Stu Bickel played a total of 3:24 over three shifts, and he did not see the ice at all after the end of the second period. Bickel played 17 seconds more in Game 3 than he did in Game 2 in New York.

By The Numbers – Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh led all skaters on both sides with 53:21 in ice time. He logged 25:17 of that in the overtime portion of the game … Dennis Wideman led all Capitals with 41:40 in ice time … Each of the Rangers’ top four defensemen logged more ice than Wideman … Hendricks led the Caps in shots on net (six) and hits (11) … Gaborik led the Rangers with seven shots and Boyle led the Blueshirts with nine hits … McDonagh led all skaters on both sides with eight blocked shots … Carlson led the Capitals with seven blocked shots … The Caps missed the net 28 times to New York’s 18 … Gaborik, Ovechkin and Wideman led all skaters with 14 shot attempts each in the game.

Three star selections
1st:	MARIAN GABORIK
2nd:	HENRIK LUNDQVIST
3rd:	BRADEN HOLTBY

Winning Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist

Losing Goaltender Braden Holtby