Through the first 59 minutes last night, it seemed as if it were going to be another disappointing night for the Rangers’ power play. On their way to a 3-2 overtime victory over the Capitals in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Rangers man-advantage did not get a shot on goal during their first three chances, totaling six minutes.
“Just stick with it,” is how coach John Tortorella put it after the game, which his team won with two power play goals to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. “Power play is the power play. It gets streaky.”
The Rangers stuck with it, and when the Capitals’ Joel Ward took a four-minute high-sticking penalty — drawing Carl Hagelin’s blood — with 22 seconds remaining in regulation, the Rangers’ 2-1 deficit didn’t seem so unconquerable.
“The last minute was incredible,” Marc Staal said.
It started with Henrik Lundqvist out of his net, the Rangers with six attackers and Brad Richards winning a crucial draw against Jay Beagle. The puck got back to Michael Del Zotto, who put it toward the net, where Ryan Callahan registered two shots before Richards found it near the left post and put it past the glove of Braden Holtby’ to tie the game 2-2 with the clock showing just 6.6 seconds remaining.
The second two minutes of Ward’s penalty carried over into the extra period, so the Rangers went out on the 5-on-4. John Mitchell won a face-off and Staal blasted home the winner through traffic.
“We end up scoring two at the end when we had problems with their pressure,” Tortorella said. “We’re trying to sort it out.”
* It seems as if the blocked shot has become the leading theme in this series, and yesterday its prevalence produced some interesting results.
Although the Rangers were the preeminent shot-blocking team during the regular season, they have been outdone this series by the newly defensive Capitals, who blocked a total of 25 last night to take their playoff-leading total to 144 through 12 games.
The Rangers actually had 78 total shot attempts, with 38 getting on goal and another 15 missing the net.
“It’s something that every team tries to do,” Capitals forward Matt Hendricks said yesterday morning. “But until you really buy into it and put the onus on yourself and everyone in the room to do it, it’s a difficult task.”
The Rangers, who had 10 blocks last night and are second in the playoffs with 126, have seen their totals drop over the past two games as they have had more puck control and seen the Capitals show more patience.
“We didn’t block many shots because we’ve had the puck,” Tortorella said.
* Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello was on the ice before yesterday’s morning skate, but went off before the team started drilling.
He has missed the past five weeks with a broken left wrist, and when Tortorella was asked if he were ready, he clearly said, “No.”
* Brandon Dubinsky, out since Game 7 of the opening-round series against the Senators, has not practiced, and there is still no timetable on his return. … The Rangers’ 17 shots in the first period set a franchise playoff record for shots in a period.