May 12, 2015
Ceci Ferrara
Sports Writer
Sports Insider
The Washington Capitals are headed to another Game 7 after falling to the New York Rangers 4-3 at Verizon Center on Sunday night.After back-to-back victories last week, the Washington Capitals took a commanding 3-1 series lead against New York and were on the brink of their first conference finals appearance since 1998.But instead of closing out the series, the Caps began to struggle. On the road Friday they fell 2-1 to the Rangers in overtime, sending the series back to D.C. for Game 6.
With a chance to once again eliminate New York, they unraveled.Forty seconds into the game, Chris Kreider sent a backhanded shot past goalie Braden Holtby for an early Rangers lead. By the end of the first period, New York had extended it to 2-0. Jason Chimera gave Washington hope when he scored 28 seconds into the second period, cutting the deficit to one.The Caps were able to hold off the Rangers for the remainder of the second period, but New York bounced back full force in the third. They scored twice within the first five minutes to extend their lead to 4-1. While the Rangers celebrated on the ice, the Verizon Center crowd was near silent. But it wasn’t over yet.
“We made the line changes and we started playing,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. “We dug ourselves a hole, we’ve done that a few times, and we tried to dig ourselves out. We said, ‘Let’s have a push.'”A little over 7 1/2 minutes into the period, Evgeny Kuznetsov scored for Washington in the hopes of mounting a comeback. Three minutes later Joel Ward scored to cut the deficit to one, but their rally fell short. It is the second consecutive year that New York has rallied from a 3-1 series deficit in the conference semifinals to force a Game 7. Last year they went on to play in the Stanley Cup, where they fell to the L.A. Kings.
Despite the loss, and the added difficulty of playing on the road, the Caps are optimistic they will be victorious. “I saw how we could control the play in the offensive zone with our wall play, our strength, our size,” Holtby said afterwards. “A 60-minute effort, if we do that, percentages are in our favor for a win.”Game 7, which will end the season for one of the teams, will be Wednesday evening at Madison Square Garden.
Wizards
While the Capitals are trying to dig themselves out of a hole, the Wizards are enjoying a 2-1 lead against Atlanta in the Eastern Conference semifinals.Even without John Wall, who does not appear likely to return this season, Washington dominated most of the game–leading by 13 points at halftime and 21 with 10 minutes left. But in the final minutes, they began to fall apart. Atlanta was able to tie the game, and with 15 seconds left, it appeared to be heading to overtime. But Paul Pierce, the 37-year old veteran who has been impressive during the post-season, hit a shot at the buzzer to lift the Wizards over the Hawks 103-101 and give his team the series lead. “I’m still soaking it up,” Pierce said, “because I don’t have too many more of these left.”The series continues with Game 4 on Monday evening.
