Caps defeat Rangers, force Game 7

CAPITALS 2
RANGERS 1
Series tied at 3

With the New Jersey Devils paitiently waiting for an opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals, the New York Rangers are once again on the brink of elimination in this playoff season. In a series where they haven't played all that well, the Rangers lost to the Capitals 2-1 in Washington to knot up their best of seven series at three apiece.

After taking advantage of a late penalty in Game Five, a game New York was losing 2-1 with  six seconds to go, the Rangers tried to win it in overtime, but New York had no such luck this time.

Earlier, the Rangers fell behind when Alex Ovechkin scored in the first period to give the Caps a 1-0 lead. Washington built this lead to 2-0 as Jason Chimera scored his fourth goal of the series.

Offensively the Rangers had no answer for 22-year-old goalie Braden Holtby, who had 30 saves in 31 attempts on goal. Holtby had a very good Game Four for the Capitals before falling apart at the end of Game Five. He rebounded well on Wednesday night.

The Rangers will return home to play Game Seven in the hope they can close it out and steal another series. Meanwhile, their rivals, the Devils, will be fully rested when and if the Rangers advance.