Vincent Trocheck had a goal and an assist as the New York Rangers beat the host Washington Capitals 3-1 on Friday to close in on a berth in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Chris Kreider and Barclay Goodrow added goals, Mika Zibanejad had two assists and Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves for the Rangers, who lead the best-of-seven first-round series 3-0.
“All year it’s been that way, relied on a lot of people,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said about the team’s balanced scoring. “Like everybody, dealt with some injuries, guys have had to step up. But now we’re back a little bit, able to get a balance on the lines, a balance on the back end. I do think that it’s helpful through the course of a regular season, certainly through the playoffs, where the bump and grind comes into it, the longevity of it, you hope, comes into it. It’s good to have that depth.”
John Carlson scored for the Capitals. Charlie Lindgren made 19 saves.
“I think it’s pretty simple, we’ve got to win the next game,” Carlson said about the Capitals’ 3-0 series deficit. “That’s all we can do, that’s all we can worry about. That’s what we’ll be focused on.”
Washington played with five defensemen for 2 1/2 periods after Trevor van Riemsdyk was injured at 12:08 of the first on a hit from New York forward Matt Rempe.
New York controlled the play early, building up a 5-1 shot advantage 3 1/2 minutes into the game.
However, the Capitals got on the board first.
Carlson gave the hosts a 1-0 lead at 5:34 of the first period. T.J. Oshie received a pass in the neutral zone and carried it inside the blue line before sending a short feed to Carlson in the middle, and the defenseman quickly snapped it in high on Shesterkin’s blocker side.
The Rangers tied it 34 seconds later. Zibanejad held on to a Jack Roslovic pass and took it near the point before firing a shot that Kreider tipped in front at 6:08.
“Yeah, you get the lead, the crowd gets going and then they score right away,” Alex Ovechkin said. “It kind of sucks.”
Goodrow scored short-handed to put New York ahead 2-1 two minutes later. Trocheck fed Goodrow on a partial two-on-one, and Goodrow beat Lindgren blocker side from the slot at 8:08.
The Capitals had their chances in the second period.
They hit the post 30 seconds into the frame in the final seconds of a carryover power play. Halfway through the period, Shesterkin robbed Max Pacioretty point blank from in front, getting into the splits to get his pad on the puck.
At the other end, Lindgren got across to deny Kaapo Kakko off a feed from Will Cuylle with just over five minutes remaining in the period.
Trocheck made it 3-1 Rangers with a power-play goal at 15:22 of the second. Zibanejad sent a pass through the legs of Capitals defenseman Dylan McIlrath to Trocheck driving toward the net, and the forward quickly deposited it short side past Lindgren’s glove.
–Field Level Media
