WASHINGTON, DC – Behind two Chris Kreider bookend goals in the first period, the New York Rangers built a 4-1 lead early in the third period but withstood a furious Washington Capitals rally to hold on for a 4-3 victory in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series at the Verizon Center. The Rangers were 1:41 away from elimination in Game 5 down 3-1 in the series but have recovered to force a Game 7 on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
“We wanted a chance, and we gave ourselves a chance. We came here to compete, and I thought we did that for a lot of hearts. You had two good teams going at it, and you got another one goal game with great goaltending performances,” said New York head coach Alain Vigneault. 
“It’s been a close series, all series. We obviously gave ourselves a pretty good opportunity being up 3-1, but at that point, the series could have been the other way too, so we’re just focusing on our game. We had an opportunity to move on. Game 7 is a big one, and one that we’re going to use the momentum we got in the third period,” said Washington goaltender Braden Holtby.
Kreider silenced the Washington crowd by scoring 40 seconds into the game. Kreider broke in on Holtby down the right side and warded off Matt Niskanen, managing to beat Holtby with a one-handed backhand shot. Holtby was sitting deep in the crease and did not come out to challenge Kreider when he beat Niskanen.
“It’s always nice to be able to get one on the first shift, get one early. I think that was important that we had a good start. At the same time though, those goals, it’s off a faceoff play, the second one especially, those are teamwork goals. I’m just on the receiving end. I think we had a good start, but it’s [about] playing 60 minutes because I think [Washington] had a lot more in the second and third [period] than we did.”
Kreider struck again on the power play just before the first intermission. Derek Stepan won a faceoff in the Capitals zone back to Derick Brassard at the point. The rebound off Brassard’s shot went off John Carlson through Holtby’s legs and found Kreider on the other side of the net. Replay in Toronto showed that Kreider scored with 0.3 seconds left
Jason Chimera scored 28 seconds into the second period for the Capitals to make it 2-1. Joel Ward’s shot was diverted through Lundqvist by Evgeny Kuznetsov. Chimera was alone behind Lundqvist and tapped it in right before it crossed the line.
After being outshot 20-17 in the first period, the Capitals put 18 shots on Henrik Lundqvist in the second period while the Rangers only mustered four.
After the second intermission, Martin St. Louis found Rick Nash in front of the net. Nash beat Nicklas Backstrom across the crease and went around Holtby to score his first goal in eight games 54 seconds into the third period.
“It’s nice to score goals. Obviously they’ve been hard to come by, and it’s been really frustrating when you can’t do the thing you’re supposed to do and you feel like you’re letting your team down. It’s tough, but winning games, that’s all that matters is the win and going into game 7 with some momentum….it’s a momentum swing. We scored that other one and then I think we kind of sat back and they took it to us [and] take offensive chances and it works out for them. It was kind of a matter of sitting back I think,” said Nash.
During a shift change, James Sheppard dug a J.T. Miller dump-in back to Dan Boyle at the right circle. Boyle beat Holtby top shelf at 4:24 of the third period to give the Rangers their winning margin.
The Capitals’ valiant comeback began when Kuznetsov deposited a loose puck past Lundqvist off the crossbar with 12:20 left in the game.
Ward then wrapped a rebound around Lundqvist off a Chimera shot to bring the Capitals to within a goal with 9:27 left in the game.
The Rangers killed off a late Capitals power play with 2:44 left in the game for a delay of game penalty on Sheppard. The Capitals pulled Holtby midway through the power play to give them a 6-on-4 advantage.
“It says a lot about the character in the room. Never say die. We just can’t put ourselves in that hole. It’s the playoffs and the team that gets a 4-1 lead, they shouldn’t let us back in it. We can’t start from there. We have to tighten up a couple of things, obviously. It’s anyone’s game now. It’s game 7. It’s going to be another great game, but hopefully we can take it.”
Holtby made 24 saves on 28 shots for the Capitals. Lundqvist made 42 saves on 45 shots for the Rangers.
“He [Lundqvist] surprises me every day with his focus, and it’s hard to really say. He’s just so focused on the game, and he makes that save when we need it the most. He was just a wall back there for us when we were just battling and trying to get it out of our zone and get it in their end, but we just couldn’t find it. [Washington] had a lot of opportunities, but he was there to close the door,” said New York defenseman Dan Girardi.
“There is no doubt that he [Lundqvist] was a difference maker on the ice tonight. I think we came out real strong in the first period. Second period, tough decisions fell off a little bit, and we gave them a couple of looks. And, in the third, we made it 4-1, and they had one of the strongest pushes I have seen the team have, and the building was loud and it was exciting right to the end,” said Vigneault.
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