For six games Rangers' fans had plenty to complain about.
New York was horrible on the power-play, and the team's offensive stars and veterans were silent for much of the series. If it weren't for an incredible performance by goalie Henrik Lundqvist in Game 6, as the Rangers held off Washington 1-0, this series would have been long over.
Yet in Game 7, the Rangers went from being gutless to resilient in virtually a New York minute.
The offense that didn't exist for six games was alive and well in Game 7, as New York pulled off a 5-0 blowout win in D.C. to advance to the semifinals against the Boston Bruins.
The Rangers wasted little time in setting the tone on this night as Aaron Ashman netted his second goal of the series on an assist from Chris Kreider--seven minutes into the first period.
From there it was all Lundqvist as he made 13 saves on goal, and 26 total saves on goal through the games first two periods. Since giving up the game winning goal in Game 5, Lundqvist was unstoppable over the final two nights of this first round series, recording 62 saves in that span.
Holding a 1-0 lead, many fans would easily assume that might be it for New York; the Rangers had struggled all series offensively as goals proved hard to come by. But in the second period, the Rangers offense finally came to life. Taylor Pyatt took a feed from Derek Dorsett and Steve Eminger and tapped it in to give New York a 2-0 lead, just 3:24 minutes into the second period.
Two minutes later, New York was on the charge again when Michael Del Zotto's slap shot zipped passed the glove of Bobby Holtby to make it 3-0, New York. With a 3-0 lead, New York could feel it -- their confidence was back. With the best goalie in the sport in front of the net, Washington had next to no shot at coming back.
0:13 seconds into the third period, the Rangers quickly broke the Capitals spirit when Ryan Callahan scored his first goal of the series to make it 4-0, Blue Shirts.
Before anyone knew it, the Verizon Center had virtually cleared out, and all that was left were a handful of happy Rangers' fans, as New York took care of business in shocking fashion.
Now, the Rangers get set to face the Boston Bruins in the semis. New York is 2-1 on the season against Boston this year.
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