NEW YORK — Russian rookie goaltender Simeon Varlamov recorded his first career playoff shutout and Washington broke out of its scoring funk with revamped forward lines on its way to a 4-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Monday night. Washington coach Bruce Boudreau paired Sergei Fedorov with Alexander Ovechkin on the first line and dropped Nicklas Backstrom back to the second line with Alexander Semin. The energized Capitals dominated for most of the game, as Varlamov extended his shutout streak to 112 minutes and 16 seconds by making 33 saves. The Rangers lead the series, 2-1, with Game Three set for Wednesday night in New York. Semin broke the game open at 6:57 of the first period, snapping a cross-ice pass from Backstrom past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers looked like they had tied the game minutes later, when Ryan Callahan beat Varlamov with a shot that replays showed rang off the post. Before play stopped, however, the Capitals advanced the puck deep into New York’s end and Backstrom passed to Ovechkin, who completed a tic-tac-toe sequence by sliding the puck across the crease to Semin, who tapped it in at 11:36. Brooks Laich extended Washington’s lead to 3-0 by jamming a rebound of a Semin shot between Lundqvist’s skate and the post at 11:20 of the second period. Defenseman Tom Poti tallied on a power play late in the game to round out the scoring. New York agitator Sean Avery got 18 minutes in penalties, including a game misconduct when he punched Varlamov in the face in the third period after getting mixed up with Capitals defenseman John Erskine.
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