NEW YORK, NY – Brandon Dubinsky’s goal with two minutes remaining in the third period staked the Rangers to a vital 3-2, Game 3 win over the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon. The Blueshirts started quickly – as they had in the first two games of the series – but were unable to fashion a legitimate scoring chance in front of the Caps’ Michal Neuvirth. Unlike they had in game 2 though, the Rangers continued to push forward through the early minutes of the second period and were duly rewarded by Erik Christensen’s powerplay tally. Christensen snapped a wrister past Neuvirth from a tight angle, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead behind his first ever post-season goal. Both sides had chances to score as the game opened up toward the end of the second period, though it was Washington that would ultimately respond with a minute on the clock through captain Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin tipped Jason Arnott’s point-shot past Henrik Lundqvist after Mike Green had been knocked over on the play. The Rangers thought they’d re-taken the lead in the dying seconds of the period, though Ruslan Fedotenko’s deflection was deemed to have only been on the goal-line as the time-clock ticked over to 0.00; a tough break for the Rangers, but one that NBC’s overhead camera deemed correct a mere hour after the fact. Outshooting the Capitals for much of the game, the Rangers had great success when getting bodies in front of Neuvirth. Marian Gaborik did an excellent job of screening the young goaltender on Marc Staal’s shot from the blueline midway through the final period, veteran forward Vinny Prospal turning home a wide open rebound to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. Washington would answer back again though. With the Capitals on the powerplay, Ovechkin fired a pass to the toe of Nicklas Backstrom’s stick for a one-timer that Lundqvist could only turn in to the path of Mike Knuble for a straightforward finish and a tied game. One thing that’s guaranteed of the 2010/11 New York Rangers, though, is a whole-hearted effort right up until the buzzer. Brandon Dubinsky, oft-invisible through the first two games of the series, made his mark with a strong solo push at 18:21 of the final period. He and Fedotenko fought hard for the puck along the right-side boards, Dubinsky eventually forcing his way across the goal-line before lifting the puck over Neuvirth’s left shoulder for the game-winner. Game 4 is Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden, 7pm ET. Washington leads the series 2-1. Contact the author – alex.nunn@prohockeynews.com
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