With a little more than six minutes left in the third period, Alex Ovechkin finally had the perfect chance to save the Washington Capitals.
He was alone in front of the net with the game, and possibly this first-round series, on his stick. He fired a shot past the goaltender — but watched it glance off the crossbar and out of play.
Ovechkin’s gaze shot upward in disbelief. At this point, forgive the Caps if they are looking for help from above.
New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 35 shots, and the seventh-seeded Rangers left the District on Saturday afternoon with a 1-0 victory and a stunning 2-0 lead in this Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
“Again, [we had] lots of chances,” Ovechkin said after a sigh. “He played great. In playoffs, when their goalie feels the game and he plays great, it is tough to score.”
Ryan Callahan scored the lone goal in the first period. Now the series shifts to Manhattan for Monday night’s Game 3 with the second-seeded Caps on the brink of a being a first-round bust.
• Corey Masisak can be reached at cmasisak@washingtontimes.com.
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