Will Washington forward Joel Ward’s four-minute high-sticking penalty prove to be the turning point of this series? Washington seemed to be on their way to a 2-1 victory and 3-2 series lead when Ward was penalized with 22 seconds remaining in regulation time.
Brad Richards netted a power-play goal with just 6.6 seconds left on the clock to tie the game. The penalty was a double-minor, so the Rangers started overtime with the man advantage and Marc Staal found the back of the net 1:35 minutes into the extra frame.
Maybe the Rangers would have pulled off the comeback even without the penalty, but it certainly made things easier for them.
Here’s a few interesting notes:
- In addition to scoring the game-tying goal, Richards won 12 of 18 faceoff opportunities.
- This was another big shot blocking game for Washington. The Capitals got in front of 25 shots.
- The rink was tilted in the first period. The Rangers had 17 shots to Washington’s four through 20 minutes of play. Despite that, the Capitals weren’t completely devoid of scoring chances early on and the Rangers only had a 1-0 lead going into the second frame.
- Maybe it’s because Washington was trailing or tied with the Rangers for most of this contest, but Alex Ovechkin got plenty of ice time. He finished the game with 19:08 minutes.