HAVE A NICE TRIP: The Caps’ Alex Ovechkin (right) is sent airborne by the Rangers’ Sean Avery during the Blueshirts’ 2-1 shootout triumph last night in Washington. (AP)
WASHINGTON — Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but boy, were the Rangers a beautiful sight to behold last night in grinding their way — what else? — to a 2-1 shootout victory over the Capitals.
Honestly, it is impossible not to appreciate the consistent blue-collar work ethic of this band of Black-and-Blueshirts, who simply refuse to yield no matter how many regulars go down with injuries, who refuse to concede no matter how deep into a game they go trailing on the scoreboard.
Saturday in Atlanta, they were down 2-1 until Brian Boyle tied the score with 5:19 to go in regulation to set the stage for a 3-2 shootout victory. Last night, they were down 1-0 until Marian Gaborik scored from in front with 6:41 to go in the third when Boyle’s long right wing drive bounced in off his body to set the stage for the shootout, in which three of four Blueshirts scored against Braden Holtby, the decisive one registered by Artem Anisimov.
Gaborik is known for his artistry, but his tying goal last night was likely more meaningful than any one-timer off the rush he might score, for it codified the struggling winger’s commitment to work in the dirty areas of the ice from the very first shift, to battle for pucks, to mix it up, to redefine his game as necessary and demanded.
“Everybody is doing it, so I have to as well,” said Gaborik, who was turning away from the net as the puck glanced in off his glove and did not know he had scored until he saw his teammates celebrating. “I was skating, moving my legs, and tried to be as involved as I could.
“With so many players out, we all have to do whatever we can. You can see the character of this team. I’ll do whatever it takes.”
Dan Girardi missed the first game of his NHL career after 330 straight with the rib-cage muscle injury he sustained in Atlanta. Girardi and Marc Staal are essentially always matched against Alex Ovechkin. Last night, Michael Sauer stepped in on Staal’s right side and, with aided by industrious backchecking forwards, helped shut down No. 8 and his linemates.
“It wasn’t just Marc and Michael,” said Martin Biron, who turned in a patented performance, making his most difficult save on John Carlson’s stretching deflection from in front with 20 seconds to go in OT. “It was a great effort by all six of our defensemen.”
That included Michael Del Zotto, who was steady in 15:07 in his first NHL game since Jan. 2 following his recall on Saturday from the AHL Whale. The Rangers kept it simple, all of them, keeping the puck to the outside, negating Washington’s offensive weapons from the point throughout a game that was contested almost entirely in close quarters.
“You know what? I don’t have anything new for you,” said Boyle, who switched places in the third with Artem Anisimov and skated the final 20 minutes between Gaborik and Sean Avery. “It’s the same old.
“We never give up. The way we grind, we have confidence we can wear teams down.”
The Rangers have scored two goals or fewer in 12 of their last 13. No matter. They’re 7-5-1 over that stretch. They’re home to face the Panthers tonight in the final game before the All-Star break.
“We want to finish this off well,” said Gaborik. “Whatever it takes.”