CAPTAIN’S ORDERS: Ryan Callahan has not scored an even-strength goal since Game 1 of the opening round, but said he is “confident” entering tonight’s Game 7 vs. the Capitals. (Anthony Causi)
There were no guarantees issued by the captain of the Rangers the day before his team’s second Game 7 of the playoffs, only a vow from Ryan Callahan heading into tonight’s Eastern Conference semifinal showdown at the Garden against the Capitals.
“I need to step up and lead and do the things I’m counted on doing for the team,” Callahan told The Post yesterday. “And that’s what I expect of myself [tonight].
“Personally, I don’t think I’ve been at my best in this series, but I’m looking to be stronger and better and create more offense. I have to do the things that make me effective and make us a better team.”
Callahan has scored once in this series, a second-period power play goal in Game 3. The captain, who has three goals in the playoffs after finishing second on the club to Marian Gaborik with 29 during the season, has not scored at even strength since getting the Rangers’ first goal of the playoffs at 12:01 of the first period in Game 1 against the Senators one month ago tonight.
“I’m confident and the team is confident,” said Callahan, who apparently will be reunited with Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider after skating with Brian Boyle and Artem Anisimov the last two games. “It’s Game 7 at the Garden and we know what to expect.”
There will be nowhere to skate to and nowhere for the Rangers to hide if they are unable to beat the Capitals 16 days after defeating the Senators in a first-round Game 7 on Broadway that followed an emotional Game 6 victory in Ottawa to avoid elimination.
This time, the Capitals are the team that avoided elimination, recording a 2-1 victory in Washington on Wednesday in a game in which the Rangers were deficient everywhere but in net.
“You don’t think about what could have happened in the series before,” goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. “[Thursday] might have been a different feeling because there was still disappointment from losing the night before, but now that’s gone.
“When you go into a Game 7, it’s exciting, and you just have to see it as a great challenge and a great opportunity.
“It’s important to control your emotions because you know how much this means to so many people,” said The King, who has allowed two goals or fewer in nine of his 13 playoff games. “You have to stay cool and make good decisions under pressure, especially because everybody is jacked up.”
The challenge within the challenge is to create legitimate scoring opportunities, as against a stingy opponent that’s all but eliminated the Rangers’ speed and rush game while collapsing around Braden Holtby’s net in its own end, thus limiting shots even when the Blueshirts do get substantial zone time.
“I think the last few games [the Capitals] have been creating higher quality scoring chances,” Lundqvist said. “I hope that changes.”
The Rangers have held the lead for a total of 22 minutes over the last five games, have not held the lead at all in any of the three games they have lost, and have not held a third period lead for so much as a second after Game 1.
“We’d like to get out and score three or four goals in the first period, but winning 1-0 is the same as winning 5-1,” said Brad Richards, whose team has not scored a pure five-on-five goal over the last 144:52. “We’re not going to abandon our structure just because people are writing about a lack of scoring.”
So into Game 7 the Rangers go again. Two rounds and 14 games for the East’s top seed against the eighth and the seventh seeds. Either sixth-seed New Jersey or the summer come next.
“This isn’t anything we weren’t prepared for,” Callahan said. “We know what we are as a team, we know our character.
“We’re ready.”
larry.brooks@nypost.com