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Capitals erase a 3-0 deficit, beat Rangers 4-3 in double overtime to take 3-1 series lead

Washington Capitals v New York Rangers - Game Four

in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2011 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 20, 2011 in New York City.

Bruce Bennett

Last night the San Jose Sharks proved that no lead is safe in the NHL after roaring back from a 4-0 hole to beat the Kings in overtime 6-5. Tonight, the Capitals did their own part to make people remember that the game is truly never over until the clock hits zero.

Tonight, it took until double-overtime to cast the decision, but the Capitals roared back from being down 3-0 in the third period to tie things up and win it 12:36 into the second overtime to win 4-3 and take a 3-1 series lead on the New York Rangers.

After all the talk leading into Game 4 from Caps coach Bruce Boudreau about how Madison Square Garden isn’t so great and isn’t a loud place to play, the Rangers went out of their way in the first period to prove him wrong getting goals from Artem Anisimov, Marian Gaborik, and Brandon Dubinsky to go up 3-0. The goals from Gaborik and Dubinsky came just seven seconds apart and had the crowd at MSG chanting, “can you hear us?” to Boudreau and the Capitals.

The electric atmosphere would last through until the third period when the Capitals stopped playing like they were in mud and started to assert themselves as the best team in the Eastern Conference. There Alexander Semin scored once while Marcus Johansson added a pair of goals to send the game to overtime.

In overtime, the Capitals had a tremendous opportunity as Alex Ovechkin had a breakaway opportunity on Henrik Lundqvist (49 saves) that saw Lundqvist come up huge.

The game would move on to double overtime where Marian Gaborik would again be a major factor in the game. Only this time it would work against the Rangers as he’d end up helping out Jason Chimera score the game-winning goal.

The loss is demoralizing for the Rangers because they had full control of this game after 40 minutes. As it turns out, they desperately needed the full 60 minutes of effort to lock this one away as the Caps dominated the third period and got the breaks needed in overtime. Now they’ll have to win in Washington on Saturday afternoon to prevent being sent out of the playoffs.

For Washington, the word of the day is “heart.” Being down 3-0 in the zoo-like atmosphere that Madison Square Garden provides can make things go downhill fast. To see this team toughen up like that and not give up shows that this Caps team is made of tougher stuff than we’ve seen out of Caps teams in recent years. Now they get to reap the benefits of home ice and finish things in front of their home fans on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET on NBC.

Here are all the highlights from tonight’s game courtesy of Versus.