WASHINGTON —Rangers defenseman Stu Bickel was the odd man out of last night’s 2-1 triple-overtime win in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal matchup against the Capitals at Verizon Center.
As the Rangers were taking a 2-1 series lead, Bickel sat and watched from the bench starting with 15:42 remaining the second period, playing a total of 3:24 over three shifts.
“We get in a situation when you ice Bick, and you just know this is going to go on for a while,” coach John Tortorella said afterward. “It’s an awful tough situation to stick Bick into after he’s sitting for a while. So we just made the decision to stick with the five.”
The top four defensemen — Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal and Michael Del Zotto — all played over 40 minutes, and Anton Stralman played 28:00.
Girardi received stitches above his left eye when he was hit in the face with goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s stick in the first overtime. He was no worse off after playing 44:22.
“I think it feels better than if we would have lost,” Girardi said. “To get the win, you get energy from that, you feel a little better after the game.”
* Goalie Henrik Lundqvist continued receiving postseason accolades yesterday when he was announced as a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award, given to NHL’s “most outstanding player” as voted on by members of the NHL Players’ Association.
Lundqvist had already been nominated as a finalist for the Hart Trophy as league’s most valuable player as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association. The other finalists for both awards are the Penguins’ Evgeni Malkin and the Lightning’s Steven Stamkos.
Lundqvist is the first goalie to be a finalist for either award since the Canucks’ Roberto Luongo in 2007. If he won the Lindsay Award — which used to be called the Lester B. Person Award and, like the rest of them, will be announced at the NHL Awards extravaganza in Las Vegas on June 20 — then he will be just one of three goalies to do so, joining Mike Liut (1981) and Dominik Hasek (1997, ’98).
Lundqvist is also a finalist for the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender, which is voted on by general managers and is the award he is the favorite to win.
* Brandon Dubinsky did make the trip with the team but missed his third straight game last night with a right leg injury sustained in Game 7 of the opening-round series against the Senators.
It was previously assumed to be a left leg injury, but Dubinksy was seen in the press box last night with a soft walking boot on his right foot along with crutches. There is no timetable for his return.
* Mats Zucarello, who has been out five weeks with a broken left wrist, was on the ice before the team’s morning skate, but then went off when drills started. On Tuesday, he skated at the Garden before the team’s practice, but He is still not close to returning.