Caps push Rangers to game 7

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Alex Ovechkin rebounded from a rare zero-shot performance by scoring after 88 seconds Wednesday night, Braden Holtby made 30 saves, and the Washington Capitals recovered from a potentially devastating loss by beating the top-seeded New York Rangers 2-1 to force a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinal.

Two nights after blowing a lead in the last 10 seconds of regulation and losing in overtime, the No. 7-seeded Capitals showed immediately they were over it. Ovechkin’s early power-play goal and Jason Chimera’s second-period score were just enough for the unflappable playoff rookie Holtby.

The teams meet in New York on Saturday night to determine who will face the New Jersey Devils in the conference finals.

With his mom covering her eyes in the stands, Holtby made only one error, and it came with 50.5 seconds left — a goal that was credited to Marian Gaborik and deflected off a skate and someone in a scrum in the crease. Forgive any Capitals fans for thinking, “Uh, oh. Here we go again.” But Washington held on this time.

Ovechkin’s reduced role became a major talking point throughout these playoffs: Usually a 20-minute-a-game guy, he played as few as 131/2 minutes in Game 2 against New York. He also came up quiet in Game 5 on Monday night, with no shots on goal, only the second time in 49 career playoff games that had happened to the man they call Alex the Great.

The Capitals, though, staved off elimination and are proving to be quite adept at bouncing back. They’re 4-0 in games immediately after overtime losses in these playoffs.