Caps tie series with clutch victory in pivotal game

Alex Ovechkin and Henrik Lundqvist have never made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. One of them will this spring.

But it's getting awfully hard to tell which one.

Ovechkin scored his second goal of the series and Lundqvist allowed three goals for just the fourth time in the postseason as the Washington Capitals squeaked out a 3-2 win Saturday over the New York Rangers to even the series at two wins apiece.

The series has been whittled down to a best-of-three, with Game 5 slated for Monday night in New York, Game 6 back in Washington on Wednesday and Game 7, if necessary, at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, May 12.

"It's one of those pivotal games that I think changes the whole look of the series," Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner said. "If they had gone up 3-1, it would have been extremely tough. It was as close to a must-win as you can get."

The Capitals have gotten this far because of the goaltending of rookie Braden Holtby and the shot-blocking of just about everyone else on the team. Defenseman Jeff Schultz was credited with a team-high nine blocks in Game 4 as the Caps blocked 26 shots to the Rangers' 7.

The Caps managed 26 shots on Lundqvist and it was clear in Game 4 that they are targeting the top half of the net. Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom each beat the Rangers goalie high over each of his shoulders, while Mike Green beat him with a shot low to the ice.