Caps nip Rangers on late goal
Joel Ward scored with 1.3 seconds left to give the Washington Capitals a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in Game 1 of their second-round series.
Joel Ward scored with 1.3 seconds left to give the Washington Capitals a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden in Game 1 of their second-round series.
Ward drove to the net and tapped Alex Ovechkin's feed past Henrik Lundqvist. After the goal was confirmed by replay, Ovechkin kissed Ward on the cheek.
Following a mostly ceremonial faceoff, the teams skirmished at center ice.
Ovechkin opened the scoring on a power play with 1:47 remaining in the first period. Jesper Fast tied it with 4:39 left in the third, tipping Kevin Hayes' point shot past goalie Braden Holtby.
Holtby made 31 saves. Lundqvist halted 27 shots.
Game 2 will be at 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Garden.
The Capitals ended a two-game losing streak against New York in the playoffs.
In the first period, with New York center Dominic Moore in the penalty box for holding, Ovechkin carried the puck into the offensive zone and whipped a shot past Lundqvist from the left circle for his third goal of the playoffs.
Masterton finalists
Goalies Devan Dubnyk of Minnesota and Andrew Hammond of Ottawa and defenseman Kris Letang of Pittsburgh are finalists for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy as the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.