NHL | The Rangers hold on against the Capitals and win 4-3

(New York) Mika Zibanejad had a goal and an assist to lead the New York Rangers to a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night.

Zibanejad scored the first of three special teams goals for the Rangers, who took a 2-0 lead in this series. The latter now travels to Washington and the third duel takes place on Friday night.

Vincent Trocheck also collected a goal and an assist for the New York team, which won the Presidents’ Trophy this season. Jack Roslovic and K’Andre Miller also scored in the win.

Erik Gustafsson and Alexis Lafrenière both finished the game with two assists. Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves, but saw his streak of 10 home games without allowing more than two goals end.

Tom Wilson had a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who confirmed their playoff spot last time out. Dylan Strome and Connor McMichael, with a first career playoff goal, also found the back of the net.

Charlie Lindgren gave up four times on 27 shots for Spencer Carbery’s men.

The Rangers are looking to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1994, while the Capitals lifted it for the only time in history in 2018.

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The Capitals started the game with confidence and quickly tested Shesterkin, who made some good saves. However, the Russian was the first goalkeeper to give up, at 5:09.

After recovering the puck in enemy territory, TJ Oshie headed for the lane. He tried unsuccessfully to beat Ryan Lindgren, but the Rangers defender put the puck on the blade of McMichael’s stick, who only had to push it into an empty cage.

This goal seemed to whip the New Yorkers, who suddenly picked up the pace. They equalized less than three minutes later, when Erik Gustafsson maneuvered well on the blue line before letting Trocheck deflect the pass.

The Rangers took the lead on a power play with 5:32 left in the first period. After good work from Lafrenière along the boards, Trocheck fed the puck to Zibanejad, who saw his shot hit defenseman Alexander Alexeyev before beating Charlie Lindgren.

Special teams dictated the story of the second period, as all three goals were scored during a penalty.

First, Strome only had to redirect a pass from Wilson to bring the two teams back to square one, during a power play. The answer came in the same way, as Roslovic pulled quickly to deceive Lindgren’s vigilance in the top corner.

The visitors had a chance to equalize again when Gustafsson was chased after knocking the puck into the stands, but it was Rangers who took advantage. Alex Ovechkin lost the puck in the neutral zone and Zibanejad started the counterattack with Chris Kreider. In the end, it was Miller who put the finishing touches.

When they got another power play, in the final period, the Capitals this time made the red light shine. Posted at the blue line, Hendrix Lapierre fired a wrist shot that Wilson deftly deflected behind Shesterkin.

The Capitals pulled their goaltender and applied a lot of pressure in the final moments of the game, but the Rangers defense held their own.