New York, NY (Sports Network) - The New York Rangers are off to the conference
finals for the first time in 15 years after escaping another Game 7. Henrik
Lundqvist made 22 saves and the Rangers beat the Washington Capitals 2-1 on
Saturday night in the sixth straight game in the series decided by one goal.
The Rangers will host New Jersey in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference on Monday
at home. Brad Richards scored New York's first goal just 92 seconds in and
Michael Del Zotto made it 2-0 midway through the third period, but Roman
Hamrlik replied for Washington just 38 seconds after that to cut the deficit
in half. Lundqvist had 11 of his 22 saves in the second period. He stopped 26
shots in a 2-1 victory over Ottawa in Game 7 of the first round to keep the
top-seeded Rangers from being chased out early. They improved to 5-0 in Game
7s at Madison Square Garden and won their seventh straight playoff series with
home-ice advantage. The Caps, meanwhile, failed to make the conference finals
for the first time since 1998, a year after the Rangers last did. They also
played their second Game 7 of these playoffs after topping No. 2 seed Boston
in the first round. Rookie goaltender Braden Holtby made 29 saves in the loss
but couldn't get off the ice for an extra attacker until there was about a
minute left in the third period because of New York pressure.
The Sports Network