The Capitals have a fight on their hands now.
And to win it, they probably have to avoid fighting.
The Rangers’ 3-2 victory in Game 3 yesterday in front of 18,200 fans at Madison Square Garden prevented top-seeded Washington from putting a choke-hold on the best-of-seven, first-round series. The Caps lead the series two games to one, but the way yesterday’s game played out is something they have to change if they are going to win the series.
Washington responded to the aggression of the desperate Rangers by accumulating eight penalties, and Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau was not pleased his team was sucked into such extracurricular activities.
“We knew they were going to be antagonistic,” Boudreau said of the Rangers. “And we’ve just got to learn to take it. This is the time of the year you take it. In Game 10 of the year, you don’t take it.”
Right wing Mike Knuble, who scored a power-play goal that tied the game at 2-2 late in the third period, said his club could not find an offensive rhythm while constantly killing penalties, and felt the officiating in the playoffs is tighter than it needs to be.
“It was kind of a weird first 30 minutes for guys,” Knuble said. “Tough to get a flow going. Guys were in the [penalty] box and not everybody can get on the ice. You need to build momentum on the ice . . . It’s not playoff hockey of old. You get sticks on guys and somebody stumbles . . you’re going to get called. Is it always a penalty when you get a stick on a guy? Not necessarily, but that’s the standard being set and we’ll live by it.”
The Capitals trailed 1-0 before Alex Ovechkin tied it at 1-1 with his second goal of the series late in the second period. The Rangers took a 2-1 lead in the third, but Knuble evened the score before Brandon Dubinsky’s goal with 1:39 left was the difference.
“They did a nice job around the net,” Knuble said. “Third goal was around the net, second goal was a deflection, so they just seemed to be around the net a lot more. That was the obvious game plan for them.”
The 2-1 series advantage enjoyed by the Capitals could easily have been reversed if not for a freak goal that tied Game 1, which the Caps won in overtime.
“We’re still leading the series,” Knuble said. “We’ll see the big picture. Everybody realizes it’s the little things that add up to wins right now. These games have been very, very close. That’s what we expected and we’re prepared to play close games. [Yesterday] we came out on the short end.”
