WASHINGTON — The statistical tally for Rangers captain Ryan Callahan in the Wednesday night/Thursday morning, epic 2-1 triple-overtime Game 3 victory over the Capitals:
Ice time: 42:52. Shots: five. Blocked shots: five. Hits: four.
Words spoken on the bench: perhaps not even two during 114:41 of hockey, that number supplied by coach John Tortorella.
Leadership supplied: Infinite.
“I’m not sure Ryan Callahan said two words on the bench. It’s what he does on the ice,” Tortorella said in a conference call yesterday afternoon.
“One thing I did notice, one voice I did hear [in the locker room] when we were going into those overtimes, was his. That’s part of his maturity in being captain,” the coach said of the 26-year-old winger who was named to succeed Chris Drury as Rangers captain four days before training camp opened. “Two years ago, I don’t know whether he would have felt comfortable speaking up like that, but between periods, his voice was heard.”
In addition to scoring the Rangers’ first goal from in front on a power play at 6:41 of the second period, Callahan was involved in more than several critical plays without the puck, notably diving in front of a Jason Chimera shot from the left wing with the Capitals on a four-on-two rush with approximately 2:30 to go in the second OT.
“I’ve said it over and over, that’s who he is,” Tortorella said.
➤ Tortorella remained mum on the possibility of dressing Steve Eminger as the sixth defenseman in place of Stu Bickel for tomorrow afternoon’s Game 4.
Bickel did not get on the ice for the final 89:93 of Wednesday’s match, his third and final shift ending 4:18 into the second period. The defenseman, who played a total of 3:24, has not gotten onto the ice in the third period of a game since Game 4 against Ottawa — after getting five third-period shifts worth 3:46 in the opening four games of the first round.
Eminger, who is working on his second one-year contract as a Ranger, has been a healthy scratch in nine of the club’s 10 playoff matches, dressing and getting 4:25 of ice time as a fourth-line winger in Game 1 against the Capitals when both Brian Boyle (concussion) and Brandon Dubinsky (right foot) were unavailable.
➤ Just four Rangers took faceoffs on Wednesday: Boyle (17-14), Brad Richards (12-19), Derek Stepan (13-11) and John Mitchell (4-4). … Anton Stralman, who turned over puck before Alex Ovechkin hit the post late in the first OT, was not debited with a giveaway on the scoresheet for the match.