With less than two minutes remaining in the third period of Game 3, Brandon Dubinsky drove to the net and took a shot on goal that popped up into the air and ricocheted past Caps goalie Michal Neuvirth, giving his team an emotional victory and propelled New York back into the series 2–1.
Dubinsky spoke after the game with NBC, “I thought we came out and worked hard right from the get-go. We just kept pushing forward to find a way to get it done. We’ve got the momentum back. We just got to get ready for the next game. ... It’s going to be a tough series here.”
Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist played solidly for New York stopping 23-of-25 shots on goal. Lundqvist talked about his team’s win on www.newyorkrangers.com, “Our focus was to come in here and get a win, try to change the momentum of the series a little bit.”
“It is so fun to come back to New York and play playoff hockey—to feel the atmosphere and excitement is great. That is what you work so hard for all year.”
“[Today] was great. We just have to keep it going.”
Game 4 on Wednesday night will remain at Madison Square Garden.
Wild Finish
After a scoreless first period, Erik Christensen lit the lamp for New York at 5:30 in the second period after scoring a power play goal from the right circle.
Capitals star winger Alex Ovechkin tied the game at 19:00 as he beat Lundqvist with a quick shot on goal.
Then came the scoring flurry of the third period.
At 8:01, Vinny Prospal scored for the Blueshirts giving his team a 2–1 lead.
About six minutes later, Washington’s Mike Knuble took a quick shot on goal that evened the score at 14:48. And then came the wild game winner by Rangers center Dubinsky.
The fiery Prospal commented on his team’s spirit, “We knew this game was huge. They did what they were supposed to do at home, so it was up to us to do the same. We were resilient and got the job done today.”
Dubinsky added, “It is a big win to get us back in the series here.”
