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WHAT IT MEANS: With the chance to put the Capitals away in Game 6 and advance to the conference finals, the Rangers let the opportunity slip away with a 2-1 loss to the Capitals. They cut the Capitals lead to one goal with a deflected puck in the last minute of the game, but could not pull off the same late heroics of Game 5. The Rangers wasted a strong 21-save effort by goaltender Henrik Lundqvist with their inability to find the back of the net, and it wasn't for lack of chances. Illustrative of their power-play struggles throughout the game, the Rangers failed to cash in on a crucial four-minute opportunity in the second period to cut the Caps lead in half. Although their power-play delivered a pair of stunning goals in their frenzied Game 5 comeback Monday night, the unit went 0-for-5 at Verizon Center on Wednesday. The two clubs head back to New York for what is sure to be a riveting Game 7 at Madison Square Garden Saturday night.

FOUR-MINUTE BLUNDER: Trailing 2-0 in the second period, the Rangers squandered a prime opportunity to cut into the Capitals lead after Jeff Halpern’s high-sticking penalty gave New York a four-minute power-play. The Rangers managed only three shots on goal with the man-advantage; the best scoring chance of the entire power-play was actually Caps defenseman Mike Green’s shorthanded attempt.

ADDING ON: Capitals veteran forward Jason Chimeragave his team a rare two-goal lead midway through the second. The 33-year-old forward buried the puck at the left post after John Carlson’s shot deflected off Nicklas Backstrom. It was only the second two-goal lead of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs for the Capitals, who have had 11 games decided by one goal.

EARLY ONE FOR OVECHKIN: Alex Ovechkin gave the Caps a 1-0 lead less than two minutes into play, one-timing the puck from the high slot to beat goaltender Henrik Lundqvist for a power-play goal at 1:28. The early marker -- Ovechkin’s 30th career playoff goal – put Washington in good position. The Capitals entered Wednesday’s match 6-1 when scoring first this postseason.

SILLY SHOT: Another masterful performance by Ovechkin was accentuated by his rather unorthodox shot in the third, fired from the seat of his pants. Ovechkin passed the puck to himself while spinning on his backside and fired one on net that, although denied by Lundqvist, was one of the highlights of the night.

GAMESMANSHIP: Despite assurances from Caps coach Dale Hunter after Monday’s morning skate, defensive-minded center Jay Beagle was scratched with what is believed to be a knee injury sustained while blocking a shot in Game 5. Veteran pivot Jeff Halpern replaced him in the lineup, making his first appearance since March 23.

At a glance: Coming off their most dramatic win yet -- a spirited late-game rally in Monday's 3-2 OT victory -- the Rangers can close it out against the Capitals in Game 6 Wednesday in D.C. With a 3-2 series lead heading into the match, the Rangers can punch their ticket for the team's first conference final appearance in 15 years. Meanwhile, the resilient seventh-seeded Capitals look to avoid elimination on home ice at Verizon Center following a heartbreaking loss on the road.

Do or Die: In a must-win situation, the Capitals hope to extend the series to Game 7 with a win against the top-seeded Rangers tonight. “It's a do-or-die game for us, so we're all pretty intense,” defenseman Karl Alzner told the Washington Times. “Obviously we want to do and not die, so we're ready for it.”

Avoid same mistakes: After prevailing in last week’s epic triple-overtime Game 3, the Rangers bungled the chance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. With another prime opportunity within reach, the Rangers want to avoid letting it slip past. Said alternate captain Brad Richards: "It's backing up these big wins. We didn't do a good job coming out after Game 3. That'll be a focus. We want to back this up and at least give ourselves a lot better chance, especially to start."

Big-goal Brad: Richards contributed another clutch goal for the Rangers Monday, tying the game at 2 with 7.6 seconds left in regulation. The dynamic 32-year-old center has shown a knack for stepping up in big situations throughout his career, particularly the playoffs, and has a Conn Smythe Trophy to show for it. Richards, who holds an NHL record for seven game-winners during the Tampa Bay Lightning’s 2004 Stanley Cup run, has five goals and five assists in 12 games this post-season.

Guns blazing: A key for the Capitals will be to get the most out of their “Young Guns” Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and offensive defenseman Mike Green. The Caps are 13-0 when all three players tally goals, which they did to lead Washington to an 3-2 win in Game 4.

Dog days: Caps forward Jay Beagle did not participate in the team’s morning skate Monday, but according to reports, he will be available for Game 6. Coach Dale Hunter said he was just “resting his legs.”

Devils beckon: Knocking off the Flyers in five games, the New Jersey Devils now must wait until their opponent is set for the Eastern Conference finals. The 6th-seeded Devils, who missed the playoffs last year, will face the winner of the Rangers-Capitals series.

With one of the most thrilling wins in franchise history Monday night, the Rangers are in the driver's seat with a 3-2 series lead heading into Game 6 in D.C. Wednesday.

And after letting the Capitals off the hook Saturday following a dramatic, triple-overtime stunner in Game 3, the Rangers want to drop the proverbial hammer.

"It's backing up these big wins," said alternate captain Brad Richards, who tallied the game-tying goal with 6.6 seconds left in regulation to send it into overtime. "We didn't do a good job coming out after Game 3. That'll be a focus. We want to back this up and at least give ourselves a lot better chance, especially to start."

Their potential opponent is set -- New Jersey dispatched Philadelphia in a five-game series that ended Tuesday night with the Devils 3-1 win in Philadelphia -- but before they look ahead to a Hudson River clash in the Eastern Conference finals, the Rangers anticipate a tough task in the pesky seventh-seeded Capitals.

Having done it themselves against Ottawa in Round 1, the Rangers know a 3-2 series deficit is not insurmountable.

"We know they're going to come hard," Richards said. "I think we've learned that lesson as we've gone through here in the last few weeks."

Facing elimination on home ice at Verizon Center Wednesday, the Capitals are expected to come out pucks blazing. Unlike Game 4, the Rangers feel ready.

"It's a do-or-die situation," veteran winger Ruslan Fedotenko, who has won two Stanley Cups in his 10-year career, said of the difficult fourth win in each series. "Teams are desperate. That's always the hardest to win."

"I feel like we're going to try and initiate our game," Fedotenko said of the team's approach. "not weather it....we don't need to sit back and wait."

Rangers backup goaltender Martin Biron was perusing Wayne Gretzky's playoff numbers recently when he came across a staggering statistic.

It didn’t belong to The Great One but rather to Biron's teammate, Brad Richards.

En route to his Conn Smythe Trophy-earning performance in 2004, Richards tallied an NHL-record seven game-winning playoff goals during the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stanley Cup championship season.

Biron shared the number with his teammates, and fittingly, Richards added another pressure-cooker goal to his career totals Monday. With 6.6 seconds left in regulation and the Rangers trailing 2-1 in Game 5 at Madison Square Garden, Richards beat Caps netminder Braden Holtby for one of the most thrilling goals in franchise history.

“He’s a clutch player. We were actually talking about it in the room [Monday],” said defenseman Michael Del Zotto, who assisted on the goal. “Anytime there is a big play, he’s there to make it.”

It was that intrinsic big-game, big-goal quality that prompted the Rangers to court the coveted center in free agency in July, and it paid dividends again Monday as the Rangers took a 3-2 series lead after his stunning equalizer led the Rangers to a 3-2 overtime win.

Why does he seem to have a knack for stepping up in the most nerve-fraying moments?

“He’s got it,” said John Tortorella, who coached Richards with the Lightning from 2001-08. “I’ve known him since he was a kid, when he broke into the league, and he’s made big plays at key times.”

A player who thrives in the spotlight, Richards chose the Rangers and the bright lights of Broadway among his many clamoring suitors last July. Inking a nine-year, $60 million contract, he joined the team as a natural veteran leader and embraced the opportunity to mentor some of the younger players.

The opportunity was a rare one, and one that lured him to Eighth Avenue, but it also brought heightened pressure for the 32-year-old to perform up to mammoth expectations.

“It’s never been fun to lose,” Richards said. “I probably take it home with me a little too much, but that’s part of the experience of growing up. This is new; you want to make a good first impression. You’re new to the team and organization, so sometimes you think about that a little too much, but you just rely on good teammates that have been great all year.”

“It’s not just me,” he said. “Everybody’s picked each other up.”

It was his turn Monday, and he did not disappoint.

“He never lets the nerves get to him and he always produces when you need him,” Del Zotto said. “You watch any game and you see some guys get a little nervous and start fighting the puck when a big play is needed. A guy like him just gets better and better the deeper the game goes on and when you need a big play. He proved it again [Monday]. He just has that ability to find the back of the net when you need him the most.

“You see 19 open and you want to get him the puck.”

Should the New York Rangers eventually claim the 2012 Stanley Cup, Monday night’s last-second “Gut Punch at the Garden” by Brad Richards could go down as one of the Blueshirts’ most memorable markers, right up there with that of Stephane Matteau (Matteau! Matteau!). But in a contest featuring two huge Ranger tallies in the game’s final 2 minutes of playing time, it might be easy to overlook the goals that weren’t scored.

You could look at the Washington Capitals’ shot totals and surmise that the Rangers had the Caps’ offense on lockdown Monday night. That would be incorrect. In fact, Washington had the same number of scoring chances as New York (16 apiece).

The Rangers completely outworked, outhustled and ultimately outshot the Caps in Period 1, but there were few quality chances among that 17-shot barrage.

“They were taking shots from corners, shots from long range,” Caps head coach Dale Hunter, shrugging off the Rangers’ opening blitz in his postgame press conference. He was right too. The Caps actually emerged from the first period with a 4-2 edge in terms of scoring chances, defined as shots directed towards the net in the home plate-shaped area that extends from the goal posts to the faceoff dots and up to the top of the circles.

With that in mind, we’re once-again reminded of how great Henrik Lundqvist has been this postseason. In fact, ESPN Insider contributor Neil Greenberg looked at all Round 2 playoff goalies and how they’ve fared against scoring chance-caliber shots, essentially eliminating the bad-angle blasts and low-percentage bombs from distance to see how the netminders stacked up against the most dangerous shots. Unsurprisingly, Lundqvist measured up very well, ranking No. 2 behind Phoenix’s Mike Smith with a save percentage of .911 against dangerous shots. To put that in some context, the NHL average save percentage against scoring chances is .854. Yeah, that Lundqvist kid is doing pretty okay in the crease for the Rangers.

So, as fans replay Richards’ under-the-trapper, through-John-Carlson’s armpit, off-the-post-and-in heart stopper (or maybe heart-starter) keep in mind that the impeccably-coifed Swede in the crease kept the Blueshirts within striking distance in Game 5, and has all postseason long.

Five days after a thrilling, triple-overtime Game 3 win in D.C., the Rangers pulled off yet another playoff stunner.

With 6.6 seconds remaining in regulation, former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards tallied a power-play goal to send the game into overtime and set up Marc Staal's clincher for the 3-2 win against the Caps. Per Elias Sports Bureau, Richards' marker was the third game-tying goal with less than 15 seconds in regulation in the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the most in NHL history.

Here's what goaltender Henrik Lundqvist had to say about the final moments of the game:

"I was almost thinking about the next game. There was only 10 seconds left. I looked up and thought this is gonna be tough. Then we score that goal and had 15 minutes to settle down and re-focus. Luckily for me, I didn't have to do anything in overtime. We took care of business on the power-play."

Read more about the Rangers' Great Escape from ESPNNewYork.com's Johnette Howard here.

New York Rangers assistant coach Mike Sullivan parted the throng of reporters surrounding Marc Staal's locker and gave him a quick fist bump for his efforts in the Rangers’ stunning 3-2 overtime win against the Washington Capitals. It was a simple gesture to acknowledge the latest accomplishment in what is becoming a pretty tremendous comeback for the 25-year-old defenseman.

After missing the first half of the season with lingering concussion symptoms dating back to February 2011, Staal is inching ever closer to a return to form as one of the league’s elite defensemen.

The alternate captain has been one of the team’s steadiest and, at times, dominant performers this postseason, and he delivered a gold-star game Monday. Capping a shocking late-game rally led by Brad Richards' game-tying goal with 6.6 seconds in regulation, Staal tallied the game-winning power-play goal 1:35 into overtime to give the Rangers a 3-2 series lead.

Staal, who earned the team’s MVP Broadway Hat, finished the game with a goal, assist and a plus-1 rating in 24:05 in ice time during the pivotal Game 5.

He also broke up a Capitals’ 3-on-1 rush in the third period to keep the Rangers within striking distance.

“I’m certainly feeling better and better,” Staal said of his progress since making his long-awaited season debut in the Winter Classic on Jan. 2. “As the year has gone on, I’ve felt better and better. Playoffs are a lot of fun and I’m having fun with it.”

Staal’s goal, which went off Brooks Laich's stick and beat a screened Braden Holtby, allowed the Rangers to re-assert control of a series that was threatening to slip away. Had the Rangers dropped the overtime decision to the Capitals, they’d have found themselves in a precarious position for the second time this postseason -- trailing 3-2 with the series headed back to an opponent’s home ice for Game 6.

The overtime marker was also the Rangers’ second power-play goal tallied in a span of 1:42, a drastic turnaround from the unit’s feeble efforts throughout much of the game.

“We kept talking about it, plays that would open it up for us. We just kept trying to come at them,” Staal said. “It wasn’t a set play or anything off the draw, just a good clean draw and guys went to the net and he couldn’t see it.”

With his second goal and third assist of the playoffs, Staal has already matched his output for his injury-shortened 46-game regular season. He is also nearing a return to the team-leading minutes he shouldered last season as part of the team’s top defensive pairing.

“He’s just getting better and better,” goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said. “He gets the goal and made some big plays to break up opportunities in the third. He was all over the ice.”

His contributions were something that may have gone overlooked at times last season. But now that the team knows what it was like to be without Staal, and what he has gone through to get himself back, the appreciation is magnified.

“No one understands that injury unless you go through it,” said Richards, who battled a concussion of his own while playing in Dallas last season. “I’ve gone through one and I didn’t miss half the season and jump into it, so the benefit of the doubt goes to him all the time and he’s gotten nothing but better.”

“He’s enjoying this fresh start in the playoffs,” Richards said. “He’s playing so much better, and I’m sure he’ll continue to get better.”

At a glance: In a stunning turnaround, the Rangers mounted a furious late-game comeback to top the Capitals 3-2 in overtime and take an all-important 3-2 series lead heading into Wednesday's Game 6 in DC. Big-goal Brad Richards brought the team back from the brink of elimination, tying the game on a power-play goal with 6.6 seconds left in regulation. Defenseman Marc Staal then tallied the game-winner in sudden death to shock the Capitals and take the pivotal Game 5 at Madison Square Garden.

Crucial power play: An anemic power play sapped essentially all momentum gained with the Rangers’ one-goal lead but came through to deliver with time winding down in the third. New York failed to register a single shot on three power-play opportunities in the first two periods -- during a particularly frustrating sequence, the Rangers had three shots blocked in a matter of 10 seconds with Washington’s John Carlson in the box for a delay of game penalty -- but scored on the fourth to send the game into overtime. Former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Richards tallied a man-up goal with 6.6 seconds left in regulation to send the teams to sudden death.

Carlson is clutch: With veteran Mike Rupp serving a hooking penalty, Carlson beat Henrik Lundqvist with a long-range slap shot for a 2-1 Caps lead at 4:20 of the third.

Laich it or not: Burying a puck that bounced off Brian Boyle's stick, Capitals forward Brooks Laich scored from the slot to tie the game at 8:15 of the second period. The Capitals entered Monday's game 0-4 when surrendering the game's first goal of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Sharpshooter: Defenseman Anton Stralman skated past Washington’s Matt Hendricks to rip a sharp-angle shot from long range to beat Caps netminder Braden Holtby for a 1-0 Rangers lead at 10:44. Stralman now has three goals during the first 12 games of the playoffs.

Restless crowd: The crowd at MSG couldn’t wait until the eight-minute mark to jeer Alex Ovechkin, apparently. The taunts were already in full force less than five minutes into play and continued throughout the game.

Demotion: Benched for almost the entire third period in Game 4 for a costly mistake, Rangers rookie Chris Kreider began Monday’s match skating on the fourth line with Rupp and John Mitchell. He finished with 6:57 of ice time.

At a glance: The Rangers return to New York facing a familiar scenario with the series tied 2-2 heading into a Game 5 at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers had to beat the Senators twice after dropping the pivotal swing game in the first round and hope to make it easier on themselves this time around. Meanwhile the Capitals are coming off a 3-2 win in which Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green all scored. They’ll be in good shape if their big three contribute again; Washington is 13-0 in games during which all three tallied goals.

Hate factor: There has yet to be a fighting major in the first four games – strange, considering the Ramgers lead the league with 65 – but that doesn’t mean the series has lacked for intensity. Said defenseman Dan Girardi: "I think there might be a little of a hate factor… We want to make it to the next round, so do they, and there are a lot of great hits out there. Guys are doing what it takes to win. Just because there aren't a lot of scrums and all that doesn't mean we don't hate each other."

Off the hook: The most controversial play of the series was Ovechkin’s hit on Girardi in Game 4. Ovechkin left his skates to deliver the blow, although the principal point of contact was disputed. The league sided with the superstar forward, who faced no hearing or supplementary discipline for the charging penalty.

Block party: One of the reasons the series has been so tightly-contested? The Rangers and the Capitals are two of the best shot-blocking teams in the league. Combined the two teams have blocked 182 shots – 81 in Game 3’s triple-overtime marathon alone – with Washington setting the pace with 105. Before Monday's game, Caps coach Dale Hunter praised his players for their sacrifice: “It’s a commitment to make and for them to do it, it hurts,” he said. “They have to know and get rewarded for it.”

Not yet: Although Mats Zuccarello skated with the Rangers in the team’s morning skate, he is not available to play Monday according to coach John Tortorella. Zuccarello has not played since March 23 because of a broken left wrist.

Rookie response: After committing a brutal giveaway that led to Ovechkin’s first-period goal Saturday, Rangers rookie Chris Kreider was benched by coach John Tortorella for most of Game 4. He was limited to a mere 7:34 in ice time – only one shift in the third period – but said it was the “right decision.” How will he respond Monday?

Updated: 12:37 a.m.

The Rangers' Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Capitals hasn't featured the brutal fights and the violent scrums of Round 1 -- a nasty battle with the bruising Senators -- but the series has not lacked for intensity.

And there appears to still be some ill will between the two teams.

"I think there might be a little of a hate factor," defenseman Dan Girardi said. "It might not seem like that, but obviously both teams hate each other. We want to make it to the next round, so do they, and there are a lot of great hits out there. Guys are doing what it takes to win. Just because there aren't a lot of scrums and all that doesn't mean we don't hate each other."

The series may be less vicious than their seven-game set against the Senators, but it certainly appears to be more evenly matched.

All but one game in this series -- Game 1, a 3-1 win for the Rangers -- has been decided by one goal, including the epic triple-overtime thriller in Game 3. That's nothing new for the Capitals -- including Monday's 3-2 Rangers win, 11 of their 12 games this postseason have been one-goal matches -- or the Rangers, who have yet to dominate a series despite their top seed in the Eastern Conference.

"I think it's almost a higher [competitive] level in this series," defenseman Ryan McDonagh told ESPNNewYork.com. "There may not have been as many fists and hits, but the scoreboard is really all that counts. These are so much tighter of games."

Said Washington's Brooks Laich: "There [are] a lot of hits. It's a physical series. Just because there hasn't been a fight, people might think it's not as intense, but there's not a lot of space out there."

Perhaps the most controversial and contentious play of an otherwise pretty straight-ahead series was Alex Ovechkin's questionable hit on Girardi. The star forward left his skates to nail Girardi in Game 4, although the principal point of contact was disputed. Although Girardi said Ovechkin hit him in the head, Ovechkin and Caps coach Dale Hunter defended it as a shoulder hit.

The league clearly sided with the latter. Ovechkin did not face a hearing with VP of player safety Brendan Shanahan and avoided any supplementary discipline.

Girardi declined to comment on the matter when asked after the Rangers' morning skate on Monday.

"I really don't have anything to say about that," he said.

*Apparently no one is immune from the hostility. For an amusing anecdote about Caps owner Ted Leonsis' recent visit to MSG, check this out.

Rangers rookie Chris Kreider had no qualms with being benched in Saturday's Game 4 loss.

"Obviously, it was the right decision," Kreider said.

The rookie, who has two goals in the playoffs including the game-winner in Game 1, had perhaps the toughest game of his career, which began just weeks ago.

He had a turnover that resulted in Washington's first goal, on a play when he said he had good intentions, but he didn't play the percentages and ultimately made a move that was too risky. On the second goal, he said he wasn't "swivel-headed" and lost his man and didn't help defensively.

He only played one shift in the third period and played just 7:34 overall, his lowest total since Game 5 against Ottawa. He admitted that the benching was tough to take, but hopes to learn from it.

Rangers coach John Tortorella expects Kreider to bounce back after the rough outing.

"For all our kids, there are going to be bumps in the road," Tortorella said after the team's optional practice. "His is more magnified because he's right in the middle of the playoffs. I have full confidence he's going to be able to handle that, learn from a couple of mistakes and be better for it. He's got a good head on his shoulder."

Tortorella said there were struggles away from the puck for Kreider Saturday, and he believes that it might have helped the 21-year-old to just watch. He added, "we'll see where we go with him next game."

"I'm still extremely engaged, ready to go if he calls my name," Kreider said. "Same time, trying to soak in everything and any time you can sit back and watch you're going to learn to something. Just being able to be around it is a pretty good learning experience."

Brad Richards' point was simple, yet summed up the Rangers' plan on offense.

"We've just got to do more," the center said.

With another seven-game series possibly on the horizon, the Rangers are hoping they can galvanize their offense entering Game 5 against Washington on Monday at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers have scored just nine goals in four games, and have tallied just five in their last 12 periods of hockey, including three overtimes.

"We have to shoot the puck more and create more offense and the only way we're going to do that is to get pucks to the net," captain Ryan Callahan said at the team's optional practice Sunday. "It's definitely something we need to improve on and get more of."

While the defense has been solid and Henrik Lundqvist has been stellar for the most part, the offense hasn’t held up it's end of the bargain thus far. After scoring three goals in the first game, the Rangers have failed to reach that mark in each game since.

Washington has received good play in net in the series and has used strong defense to keep the Rangers at bay, its players not afraid to throw their body in front of the pucks and block shots. In Saturday's game, Washington blocked 26 shots, six more than the total number of shots the Rangers had on goal in a 3-2 loss.

"Frustration, you can't let that creep in," said Callahan, who had two shots Saturday. "You have to keep banging away and we're not frustrated in here, we realized what we have to do and we just have to go out there and do it."

For as much as Washington has been stingy, the Rangers are saying it's all about what they need to do. Richards mentioned how it might mean beating a defender by a step. Marian Gaborik talked about being able get more pucks to the net and creating better angles.

"We just got to figure out some way to get more pucks in the blue, try to find ways to get some shots through and there's a lot of different ways you try to do that," head coach John Tortorella said. "I thought that was the weakest part of our game, not finishing up plays. There were certain times we had chance to make plays and we didn't. They did."

As the top seed in the playoffs, the Rangers have not made it easy for themselves in the playoffs. They went seven games in the first round, and could be destined for another series that goes to the limit. The team is confident moving forward.

"All year, any time there has been a big game we've rose to the occasion. We've been there for it," defenseman Michael Del Zotto said. "You look at last series, people were counting us out and expecting an upset and we come back and won two in a row. We have the confidence here and we've been through so much as a team this year and we believe in ourselves."

As we wait to talk to the Rangers Sunday, here are three quick thoughts.

1. Attack, attack, attack: If the Rangers want to make a statement Monday night, the top seed in the Eastern Conference needs to come out swinging. The Rangers can quickly erase any thoughts of there being a hangover effect from Game 4 by having a strong start against Washington. Remember, the Capitals tallied the first goal in Game 4, despite being the team that lost the three-overtime classic.

2. Kreider's toughness will be tested: The rookie has been sensational for the Rangers since joining the team, but he had a gaffe Saturday that led to a goal and then played just one shift in the third period. It was probably the roughest game he's had since becoming a Ranger and how will he respond from that? Playing in the playoffs is certainly not easy, but Kreider is going to have to put it all behind him fast.

3. Time to turn it up: The Rangers have hardly played awe-inspiring hockey to start the postseason, with just a 6-5 record so far. As the top remaining seed in the entire tournament, the Rangers haven't looked like the favorites and frankly haven't played like it. There's still plenty of time left, but the Rangers might want to start showing why they were consistently among the top teams in hockey for the entire season.

Your thoughts?

Multiple sources have indicated that Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin is not expected to have a hearing for his second-period hit on Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi, but Girardi said Ovechkin hit him in the head.

Girardi declined to weigh in on whether Ovechkin should be punished -- he is, remember, a repeat offender -- but said this when asked about the prinicipal point of contact:

"He hit me in the head first."

Read the full story, with comments from Ovechkin, here.

It is also worth noting that Ovechkin was slapped with a three-game suspension earlier this season for a similar hit on Pittsburgh's Zbynek Michalek in January. On that play, Ovechkin left his feet to hit Michalek, and although the head was not the principal point of contact, league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan said Ovechkin was "responsible for any contact to the head" as a result of "launching" into Michalek.

Link to Shanahan's video explanation here.

Recap | Box score | Photos

What it means: After dropping a triple-overtime thriller on Wednesday, Washington bounced back with a 3-2 win over New York in front of a home crowd at the Verizon Center in Game 4 on Saturday. Nick Backstrom was outstanding for Washington, but it was Caps defenseman Mike Green's power-play goal with 5:48 left in regulation that sealed the win and tied the series 2-2. The teams head back to New York for Game 5 on Monday.

Questionable hit: Alex Ovechkin could be facing supplementary discipline after a nasty blow that leveled Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi in the second period. Showing little interest in the puck at his feet, Ovehckin left his skates to deliver a high hit that earned him a two-minute charging penalty.

A-OK: After getting an earful on the bench from coach John Tortorella early in the first period, Artem Anisimov figured into both of the team’s second-period goals. He stickhandled the puck past Braden Holtby's outstretched left pad to make it 1-1 just 70 seconds into play and then set up Marian Gaborik to erase another Caps lead later in the frame.

Gaborik gaining momentum: Taking advantage of a Capitals miscommunication, Anisimov chased down the puck to negate a potential icing and shoveled it in front to Gaborik to tie the game at 2 at 16:43 in the second. It was Gaborik’s second goal in as many games -- he tallied the clincher in Game 3 -- and his fifth point in the last four games.

Save of the series: Henrik Lundqvist made perhaps his finest save of the series, which is saying a lot for the Hart and Vezina Trophy finalist. Lundqvist denied Ovechkin's re-direct attempt at the right post with surgical precision, stunning the star on what should’ve been a gimme at 2:54 of the first. Lundqvist stopped six shots in total on the Caps’ first power-play opportunity before surrendering the game’s first goal to Ovechkin later in the period.

Rookie mistake: Rangers rookie Chris Kreider coughed up the puck in his zone, a brutal giveaway that led to Ovechkin’s second goal of the series. Kreider errantly chipped the puck back to Ovechkin in the slot, where No. 8 ripped a shot that trickled through Lundqvist’s glove for a 1-0 Caps lead at 12:43.

Different look: Gaborik was dropped to the third line with Ruslan Fedotenko and Brian Boyle to begin the game. However, he was reunited with rookie speedster Carl Hagelin and Brad Richards in the second period.