But Hunter’s announcement Monday morning – that he would not return next season as coach of the team – took some by surprise regardless. Citing his desire to “go home,” back to his family, his farm, and his highly successful and highly profitable major juniors team, Hunter was as resolved as the day he took the job, presumably out of respect and as a favor to Caps GM George McPhee and owner Ted Leonsis.

In a sense, he never really left home to begin with.

Hunter was able to guide the Caps to within one game of the Eastern Conference finals, though they won back-to-back games in the playoffs just once. His regular season record of 30-23-7 was a reflection of the Jekyll and Hyde nature of this team this past season. On some nights they looked like they were embracing their new coach’s defensive philosophy, some nights they looked disinterested.

But the Caps did squeak into the playoffs, qualifying on the next-to-last day of the season. Once in the playoffs, they all seemed to buy into the ultra-conservative mantra of blocking shots and chipping out to neutral in hopes of springing an odd-man rush.

Hunter was heralded in the national (read: Canadian) media for getting the Caps to play “The Right Way,” sacrificing self — while eschewing skill — and concentrating on stifling creative hockey rather than creating themselves. Riding a hot rookie goalie due to injury, the Caps knocked off the defending Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins in seven games and took the No. 1 seeded New York Rangers to Game 7 before ultimately running out of gas.

To almost a man in Monday’s exit interviews, the Caps players professed their loyalty and gratitude to Hunter, even though some were surprised to be informed by the gathered media instead of by team officials. Role players such as Matt Hendricks, Keith Aucoin and Jay Beagle (who revealed a broken foot suffered in Game 5) benefitted from the change in priorities especially in the playoffs, while veterans such as Matthieu Perreault, Jeff Halpern and John Erskine waited for a chance to contribute that may or may not have come.

But even more glaring that those that sat in the press box were those that saw their ice time reduced in favor of defensively oriented players. Alex Ovechkin’s much publicized disappearance at times was quite noticeable. And Monday we found out just how disappointed Alexander Semin was down the stretch, as his agent said in no uncertain terms the vastly skilled Russian winger would test the free agent market and not return to a team that the player felt didn’t have much use for him anymore.

Still, Ovechkin and Semin bought in as much as the rest, back-checking and blocking shots along with everyone else. They might have been the league’s most expensive shot-blockers, but blocked shots they did.

We can — and probably will — squabble about whether it was sound coaching for Hunter to reduce his most skilled players to little more than decoys as times. But his philosophy never wavered.

Hunter should be commended for getting his players to play more like a team. He should be commended for injecting a sense of responsibility in his players to play both ways. But he had the luxury of coaching like he wasn’t concerned for his job. The sometimes strange roster decisions, the playing time adjustments, the awkwardness in his press conferences; none of that mattered to Hunter.

McPhee described Hunter as “black and white,” that Hunter knows — exactly and unflinchingly — what his priority is at all times. Family, farm, the London Knights. Though he took this job at a critical juncture in this team’s history, he didn’t need to. And he coached like it.

The next man won’t have that luxury.

Whether you agreed with Hunter’s philosophy or not (and for the record, I did not), you have to hand it to the man. He came back to the organization he clearly still loves when it was in need and tried to right a sinking ship — we can debate about just how successful he was all we want. But what’s not debatable was his dedication and unfailing conviction to his decsion-making. He is a man who has his concept of right or wrong, and he had the conviction to live and coach by it.

Toward the end of his last press conference in front of the Capitals logo, when asked if he thought he’d ever pursue another NHL head coaching job, Hunter replied calmly, “I’m going home.”

Dale Hunter addressing media after practice April 27 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

At today’s breakdown news conference, Washington Capitals GM George McPhee announced that Dale Hunter resigned as coach of the team, citing family concerns. McPhee said that Hunter informed him that he would not return, choosing to return to his home in Ontario and his responsibilities with the London Knights, a major juniors franchise he owns with this brother Mark.

“I don’t think winning would have changed his mind,” McPhee said.

Hunter guided the Caps to within one game of the Eastern Conference finals, but his record with the Caps was an even .500 over the course of his tenure including overtime and shootouts (30-23-7 in the regular season).

 ”[The players] all wanted to win but didn’t know how,” McPhee said of a man he always wanted to coach the Caps, “and he showed them.”

McPhee indicated that Hunter’s decision had nothing to do with the team, performance or situation.

“We didn’t know if [Hunter] could do it beyond this season,” McPhee said of Hunter’s hiring, but McPhee indicated he would have taken Hunter for whatever length of time Hunter made available. In the end, that length of time was 60 regular season games and another 14 playoff matches.

On the team’s search for a replacement, McPhee said, “I haven’t thought about it a whole lot.”

“We’re going to take our time and get the right person.”

Hunter stepped to the microphone after McPhee addressed the media and spoke his own words of his decision.

“It was a tough decision,” Hunter said. “But it was the right one for me and my family.”

Hunter pledged his lifetime allegiance to the organization, saying, “I’m always with the Washington Capitals. I’d love to bring a Stanley Cup here. The fans are great, the team’s playing the right way. I’m proud of these guys for sacrificing and doing what it takes to win.”

Hunter indicated that there was no premeditated decision to only stay the end of the season, that the decision would be revisited at the end of the season.

But the pull to go back to his juniors team and farm in Ontario was too much to ignore. “Going back to the family business outweighed [winning the Cup]“.

“I’m very proud of the team and how we played.”

We’ll have more on Hunter’s resignation later on DistrictSportsPage.com.

It was a one-goal game, as everyone should have expected. But it really wasn’t all that close. The New York Rangers scored just 1:32 into the game and controlled much of the play the rest of the way, beating the Caps 2-1 in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

The Rangers will go on to face the New Jersey Devils in the conference finals, and the Capitals go on to face uncertainty and questions about their immediate and long-term future.

In every game this series, the team that scored first won, and Game 7 was no different. The Caps fell behind and never really righted themselves, though the shots on goal were even through the first frame. But as the game wore on, the Rangers continued to frustrate the Caps.

A brief segment of quality play in the second period ended as if there was none, with no goals scored. In the third, the team traded goals in a 38 second span, but the result was the same as if it did not happen: a one-goal lead for the Rangers. Ultimately, New York had too much on the Caps; Washington was out-shot 11-4 in the final stanza.

“The Rangers played the way we played [in Game 6],” Nicklas Backstrom said. “They got a lead at the beginning and they controlled the game. We had some good puck possession in the second period but we couldn’t get any real opportunities.”

We’ll have plenty of time to analyze the now concluded season and look ahead to the off-season, when the Caps must make weighty decisions about seven unrestricted free agents and four more restricted free agents, not to mention whether Dale Hunter returns to lead this team next season.

“It’s not the time right now,” he said matter-of-factly when asked about his return next season in his post-game press conference.

Yet, I’m going to. I think the time to debate the pros and cons of “Hunter Hockey” starts right now. If the wound is still too fresh, you might want to skip the rest of this column.

There are many people right now considering the fact that the Caps were one game away from the conference finals and want to label the season a success. I think that’s misguided. This team was built for a deep playoff run, yet they sleepwalked through the regular season, played some downright unwatchable hockey at times, and barely qualified for the playoffs.

I think the Caps ultra-conservative game plan in the playoffs masked the fact that they still couldn’t establish any offensive possession or consistency in moving the puck through the neutral zone, instead relying on blocking shots, chipping the puck out of their own zone, then hoping for an odd-man rush to spark an attack. It’s not playing to win — it’s playing not to lose. And they played it to a tee.

Let me lay this out there for you, despite the still-raw stinging of an open wound. If Hunter returns to guide this hockey team next season, knowing what we know of his coaching style and preferences, you have to imagine there will be a lot of changes in personnel. With the loss in Game 7, we might have witnessed more than an improbable playoff run. Rather, we might have seen the end of the “Young Gun” era.

It’s clear Hunter prefers to play a close-to-the-vest, checking, shot-blocking, ultra-conservative system. There are players on this team, of course, that can thrive in that type of environment. But you know who isn’t suited for it? Nick Backstrom. Mike Green. Alexander Semin. Dennis Wideman. And most of all, Alex Ovechkin.

Yes, all of the above “bought in” for this playoff stretch. What choice did they have? But none are particularly well-suited for the grinding style Hunter prefers. It’s one thing to suck it up during the playoffs, blocking shots and packing the neutral zone. It’s entirely another thing to ask Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin and Green to sacrifice their immense offensive skill over an 82-game season.

This team was designed by George McPhee for Bruce Boudreau’s all-out offensive attack. In order to mold it in the way Hunter wants to play, big changes are in order. We’ll have to wait and see on Hunter’s decision to return but if he does, this team will look very different next season, for better or worse.

I don’t believe in “playoff hockey.” I think it’s a crutch for under-equipped teams to remain competitive when the stakes are higher — when one mistake means the difference between winning and losing. In my opinion, it’s a myth perpetuated by veteran coaches and media. The “right way to play” is a fallacy. If you play hard, play honest, play smart, it doesn’t matter if you play an offensive or defensive style.

Maybe Hunter was able to coax more responsibility out of the Young Guns. Maybe he was able to get them to finally believe in team over personal success. Maybe some of them figured they were playing for their jobs. Maybe none of this was the case, and the Caps advanced to Game 7 in the second round solely on the willingness to put their bodies in the line of fire and benefitted from a 22-year old goalie having the best four weeks of his still very young career. We’ve seen that before, too.

Maybe I’m completely off-base. I know several people I have the utmost respect for that disagree with me. But for all the comments about the Caps playing “the right way” by national media, where did it get them?

Three games. That’s all this team accomplished more than last year’s. Three games.

It’s going to be a long off-season.

The last few seasons, the Washington Capitals have entered post-season play as a high seed, if not a downright favorite at times to win hockey’s Holy Grail. President’s Trophies, Southeast Division Champion banners, you name it; the Caps have been sitting ducks waiting for a lower seed to come in without any type of pressure and just play hockey. We know how that has turned out.

But now, there is no more pressure on the Washington Capitals.

With a resilient 2-1 Game 6 victory over the suddenly frustrated New York Rangers, the Caps have reversed any type of pressure that might have accumulated this series and turned it squarely on the No. 1 seed that now has to defend their own ice in Game 7.

As they have this entire playoffs, the Capitals responded positively after losing an overtime game in the previous contest. In fact, the Caps are 4-0 in such games this post-season. It might seem strange to praise the Washington Capitals for their poise in elimination games, but the facts are undeniable — the Caps are playing with a poise and resiliency previously unseen from this group of players.

Perhaps nowhere is that more noticeable than between the pipes, as the Caps 22-year old netminder exudes a confidence that seems to radiate from his goal crease. Braden Holtby, maybe a bit shaky early, nonetheless turned in another impressive display, holding the Rangers scoreless until a twice redirected puck got past him at 19:09 of the third period with the Rangers playing 6-on-5.

“It’s a big one,” Holtby said of the victory. “I think we earned it in a way that is going to benefit us in the long run. We played a very solid team game. Very gutsy effort and we got rewarded tonight.”

As the game went on, the Rangers grew noticeably more frustrated, including goading Brandon Prust into a silly roughing penalty with three minutes left in the second period. So, are the Caps finally getting into the Rangers heads?

“I hope so,” defenseman Karl Alzner said. ‘We’re definitely trying to. We said, just stand in there, you don’t have to do anything, say anything. Boston we got away with more [extracurriculars], this series is being called a lot tighter. If you’re gonna get a shot in, get the first one in and don’t retaliate. It was nice to see we got rewarded for chirping smart.”

“That’s our goal,” Matt Hendricks said, almost defiantly. “We want to frustrate ‘em. We don’t want to make things easy on them at all.”

“As each game goes on it gets more and more chippy out there, like any series I think,” Joel Ward said. “You can tell the intensity picks up a little more. When you’re playing a game where you can close out and you down early, things can happen, maybe you get a little frustrated at times. But for us Saturday [Game 7] is going to be a different mentality and a different game and it’s going to be a different atmosphere. We just gotta worry about ourselves and not about what they’re doing.”

The Caps set the tone early with some great physical shifts, notably from the Troy Brouwer-Matt Hendricks-Jeff Halpern line. Brouwer was a one-man wrecking crew on his first shift, notching two hits and forechecking very strong. That energy paid off 73 seconds into the game, when Rangers defenseman Anton Stralman was sent off for tripping Jason Chimera on a rush.

The Caps made it hurt too, as Alex Ovechkin unleashed a missile from the high slot on the power play past Henrik Lundqvist, giving the Caps a lead they would never relinquish. The Caps were 7-1 entering play when scoring first. Make that eight now.

Ovechkin spoke of the importance of a quick start. “You can see how we start the hockey game. We get the puck deep, finish our checks and move our legs. [We] got a penalty and scored a goal.”

They picked up another at 10:59 of the second period, as Alexander Semin did the dirty work, freeing a puck along the boards and getting it into space, where Mike Green could settle it and direct it toward the net. Nicklas Backstrom redirected the puck to Chimera on the far post, who only had to tap it in from three feet for the ultimate margin of victory.

But a little over a minute later, Jeff Halpern — inserted into the lineup for the ailing Jay Beagle — got tangled up along the boards, catching John Mitchell up high and opening a cut on Mitchell’s face, setting up a four-minute double-minor. But the Caps were equal to the task on the penalty kill, as they have been almost the entire series.

”It’s one of those accidental things again,” coach Dale Hunter explained. “It starts with your goalie – [Braden Holtby] was sound and penalty killers sacrificed, blocked shots, worked their tails off and got the job done.” Hunter might have understated the performance, but the penalty kill was a huge momentum boost for the Caps. Having just taken a 2-0 lead, allowing a goal could have crushed much of the good effort the Caps did early.

Rangers coach John Tortorella was succinct in his assessment of his team’s power play. “It sucked.”

So it’s back to the Garden for Game 7. Win and advance. Lose and clean out your locker. This season has not gone the way anyone thought or planned, and some might think it a victory to have reached this spot as it is. But the Caps have nothing but opportunity ahead of them, while the Rangers now have all the pressure of defending the higher seed and home ice. The shoe is on the other foot.

“It’s Game 7 now, so all the frustration kinda goes out the window,” Chimera said at the end of his interview with a mischevious grin on his face. “It’s just one game for all the marbles. It’s gonna be fun.”

The ancient Greeks famously made their gods into humans and their humans into gods. The hero was born a man, and became semi-divine through his actions on Earth. To be identified as a hero in ancient Greece was a formal designation, an honor eerily similar to induction in a Hall of Fame in some respects.

After death, heroes like Theseus, Odysseus, and Jason were deified, honored with memorials and hero cults. After death, they possessed the ability to enact positive effect – in a limited geographic range – to those who honored them (or negative to those who did not) through ritual tribute and sacrifice.

A pre-game ceremony. Numbers hanging in the rafters. Jerseys proudly displayed on backs in rinks, homes, and sidewalks.

Gods were divine beings who possessed even greater power and who were also venerated, out of fear more than respect. Gods were capricious, unpredictable. We’re familiar with the Olympians, but emotions, primordial elements, and even physical locations were personified by gods as well.

Eris, Hypnos, Eros, Thanatos. Strife, sleep, love, death. Helios, the sun. Prometheus, foresight.

If the Hockey Gods existed in antiquity, it would most likely be in the form of Themis and her daughter Dike. Divine justice and moral justice.

Perhaps tellingly, the favored deity of cities and other institutions wasn’t a personification of justice. It was Tyche, daughter of Hermes and Aphrodite (you probably remember her, right?). The goddess of luck.

Implicit in this mythological system of gods and goddesses is the search for the answer to a fundamental question: Why do bad things happen to us?

Not “why do bad things happen to good people,” although morality at times became a factor. Why do bad things happen to us?

Happen to us. Passive voice. The bane of freshman English comp students. Passive voice is weakness, is a lack of agency. When you make something happen, you control it. When something happens to you, you have no control.

Why did my child die? Why did my crops fail?

Why did my hockey team lose?

The gods became a coping method as the ancient Greeks realized how much of the world around them was out of their control. Mount Etna erupting? Typhon trapped underneath it, struggling to break free. Harsh storms at sea? Poseidon raging against a lack of tribute, the misdeeds of someone on the ship, or perhaps he was fighting another god and the fleet is caught in the crossfire. Now there is agency. There is a reason. You can still believe in an order to the universe.

A player scored a goal because he refused to quit on a play. A player took a dumb penalty because he is overpaid and underperforming. A team lost because a supernatural force has it out for them.

Sure, it’s not that much solace when your friends are dead or your ship is sinking, but at least you know why. Even the things that are completely out of your control still have an underlying reason, a structure, and that brings small comfort. More so if you, in some small way, had (or could have had) control over the event through prayer, offerings, or actions.

Maybe you could have grown a beard. Maybe you should have worn red. Maybe you shouldn’t have forsaken your traditional pre-game meal.

Maybe the home team paid appropriate tribute to their local heroes, and there was nothing your team could do.

Another aspect of Greek religious practice was the scapegoat, though in that part of the Mediterranean the unfortunate being was a human. This person, the pharmakos, was a marginalized member of society – slave, beggar, disfigured – who was expelled from the community. The pharmakos could be deemed necessary when a disaster befell the community, or as part of regular ritual practice.

Much like the Biblical scapegoat, most pharmakoi weren’t actually killed as part of the ritual, though they were beaten and mocked before being driven from the gates. The act of expelling a pharmakos or scapegoat is a rite of purification. Whether in response to calamity or as a ritualistic matter of course, the pharmakos carried all the sins and negative baggage of the community, purifying that community to allow it to prosper in his or her (usually his) absence.

Identifying and expelling the pharmakos, the scapegoat, was an act of agency by the community. It didn’t necessarily allow them to regain control over their own fate, but at the least it was a reset button. Gather up all your metaphorical baggage and place it on the very real back of one of your countrymen. It was an act of catharsis as well.

Small consolation to that man wandering the rocky Greek countryside. Small consolation to the one man given responsibility for the ills of the entire community. The scapegoat has no say in his selection.

Prayers to the gods. Tributes offered to local heroes. Rituals. Scapegoats. Reactions of a community to events happening to them, beyond their control, that seemingly make no sense.

A lucky bounce. A shot clanging off a post. A bad penalty at the worst possible moment.

Nature abhors a vacuum, especially when it comes to meaning.

Funny how some things never change.

The reaction in some circles to the Washington Capitals loss in the final 6.6 seconds of Monday’s night’s Game 5 has pushed me over the edge. Look, I get it. Curses sell copy. It’s far, far easier to blame losing on something intangible, something imagined, something conceived rather than taking a hard, analytical look at the real reasons for the loss.

But frankly, I’m tired of any current team, but this Capitals team in particular, suffering the fates of previous incarnations. What has happened in the past has nothing to do with the current team. Nothing.

There’s no correlation between Pat LaFontaine and Petr Nedved and Esa Tikkanen and Joel Ward, other than pure circumstance. This organization IS NOT CURSED!

There’s no such thing.

This organization hasn’t won because it has never — yet — had the right combination of skill, game plan, effort and dumb luck. If the Caps don’t come back in this series and win the next two, it’s not because of any curse. It’s because, just like all of their predecessors, they simply weren’t good enough.

Monday night, the Caps lost for many reasons, Joel Ward’s high-sticking penalty with 22 seconds left in the game causing a four-minute power play for the Rangers being high on the list. But Joel Ward is not the sole reason the Caps lost last night, despite what some might have you believe.

Sure, Ward’s penalty was untimely and ultimately destructive, but this wasn’t an act of stupidity, aggression or laziness. It was simply an unfortunate accident by an honest, hard-working guy. Two players got tangled up, the sticks elevated. It could have easily gone the other way had Ward had the leverage.

But it’s an easy narrative to blame Ward. Blame is always easier. It’s an irrational, emotional response, just like the fandom that leads us to follow in the first place. Psychologically, it helps settle our emotions if there’s somewhere to channel our disappointment, anger and grief. No one wants to be analytical after a soul-crushing defeat. Unless you’re a soul-less number-crunching automaton.

But the truth is the Capitals were outplayed last night for large stretches of time. They were out-shot by the Rangers 78-38 (38-18 on goal), which means the Caps played most of the game in their own end. They lost 57% of the draws, including the last seven face-offs of the game. They missed multiple opportunities in the third period to score a critical third goal. The seeds of destruction were planted long before Joel Ward got tangled up with Carl Hagelin.

This team — by design of the coaching staff — is playing for one goal games, dumbing down the most exciting sport created into little more than a shot-blocking contest. The offensive game-plan is to chip to center and hope for an odd-man rush. It’s ugly, boring hockey, usually played by the talentless and unimaginative in order to keep games close and give the appearance of competition.

ANYONE can play defense because it’s about nothing but will. But it has the Caps within two games of the Eastern Conference Finals, a lofty perch unattained since 1998.

But none other than 22-year old Braden Holtby said it better last night that I ever could: “That’s what happens when we play a style where we block a lot shots. Sometimes those go in.”

When you play a style of hockey by design to win by one goal, one mistake is often the difference between win and a loss.

This team will win or lose Wednesday on their own merit, their own talent, their own dedication. Please leave the ghosts where the belong… in the past.

Verizon Center was Rocking the Red, in overtime on May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page-iPhone photo)

STARTING TIME SET FOR 7:30 P.M. ET FOR RANGERS-CAPITALS GAME 6 WEDNESDAY

NEW YORK (May 7, 2012) – The National Hockey League today announced that the starting time for Game 6 of the New York Rangers-Washington Capitals Stanley Cup Playoff Conference Semifinal series has been set for 7:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 9, in Washington.

The game will be seen on NBC Sports Network in the U.S.; and CBC and RDS in Canada.

It’s an easy narrative to blame Joel Ward’s untimely four-minute high-sticking penalty as the reason the Washington Capitals lost Game 5, 3-2 in overtime, to the New York Rangers, falling behind three games to two in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Semifinals.

But in reality, the Capitals were lucky to be where they were considering how badly they were dominated in long stretches by the Rangers, and can only be disappointed in themselves for failing to convert on at least four odd-man rushes in the third period. The game should have been over before Ward’s stick rode up Carl Hagelin’s as they got tangled up on a defensive zone draw — lost by Jay Beagle to Brad Richards — and clipped Hagelin in the jaw, drawing blood in his mouth.

Even then, the Capitals penalty kill had just 22 seconds to kill off the clock against a Rangers power play that had been 0-for-3 on the night and held without a shot on goal. But another lost draw led a scrum at the side of the net with the Rangers playing 6-on-4. Ryan Callahan had two whacks at it that Braden Holtby was able to stay in front of, teetering in a splits position. The loose  puck ended up on the stick of Richards, who was able to sneak a shot under the sprawling Holtby and just inside the far post to tie the game up with, get this, 6.6 second left on the clock.

It was as demoralizing a goal as anyone could imagine. Until the next one.

Of course the Rangers would score on the extended power play once play resumed in overtime, Marc Staal’s wrist shot deflecting off the inside of Brooks Laich’s leg and skittering past Holtby for the game winner, triggering streamers from the rafters and inside fireworks at fabled Madison Square Garden. You’d think the Rangers actually won something.

Ward’s penalty was damaging, no doubt. The Caps had a hard enough time keeping the Rangers at bay full strength, let alone having to kill a double minor as time expired. For his part, Ward took it pretty hard, telling reporters, “It’s a little mentally disturbing for sure right now. It’s tough to be in that position when you’re letting a team down.”

“I definitely let the squad down,” Ward said. “I cost us the game with a terrible play.”

But the eventual result was a culmination of a series of events throughout the game. The Capitals, quite frankly, were dominated for large stretches of this game, most notably in the first period, where the Rangers out-shot the Caps 17-4. That’s not a typo. For the game, the Rangers more than doubled the Caps shots on goal, 38-18. Even worse, the Rangers attempted a total of 78 shots against the Caps’ 35. That speaks to being dominated in terms of puck possession and the ability to produce scoring chances.

So does the number of shots blocked by the Caps. Washington got in front of 25 Rangers shots, but as Holtby’s quote above attests to, if you live by the blocked shot, sometimes you die by the one that sneaks through.

All that said, the Caps had several glorious chances in the third period to put this one away. With the Caps clinging to a one-goal lead, the Rangers were taking some chances as time dwindled, leading to at least four quality odd-man opportunities. But Alex Ovechkin fumbled passes on a two-on-one with Alexander Semin, and again later on a 3-on-1. Semin misfired on semi-breakaway, hitting the side of the net. And the most glorious opportunity of them all, Nicklas Backstrom hit the crossbar after faking Henrik Lundqvist (16 saves) with a beautiful forehand-backhand deke. The only thing missing was the finish.

The Rangers opened the scoring at 10:44 of the first period on Anton Stralman’s third goal of the playoffs, a snap shot from the outside of the right wing faceoff that fooled Holtby, beating him five-hole. Stralman did a good job getting Matt Hendricks to commit to blocking the shot, then easily skated around the Caps forward while he was on his knees.

Washington tied the game at 8:15 of the second frame. Brooks Laich (2) buried a bouncing puck in the slot on a pass from Alex  Ovechkin from the half boards. John Carlson gave the Caps the lead with a power play marker at 4:20 of the third period, firing a slap shot from the high slot that ticked off Lundqvist’s outstretched glove hand.

Now, the Capitals must lick their wounds, come home, regroup, and try to find a way to block Game 5 out of their minds, as hurtful as it might be. This team hasn’t done anything the easy way this season, but they really have their work cut out for them now. Every minute these games are tied, Dale Hunter and his coaching staff are happy, it means they only need one goal to win the game. Unfortunately, it also means they’re one mistake away from a loss, as they found out all too painfully Monday night.

CAPS NOTES: Alex Ovechkin did not have a shot on goal in 19:08. He had one blocked and missed another.

Washington was out-hit 29-14. New York was 28-of-49 (57%) in the dot, including winning the last seven draws of the game.

Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Mike Green all scored for the Caps, while rookie star-in-the-making Braden Holtby turned away 18 of 20 Rangers shots for his sixth win of the playoffs.

Caps fans could be forgiven for flashing back to the vintage 2008-09 Capitals squad on Green’s power play game-winner with 5:48 left in the third. Green’s second goal of the playoffs was an absolute hammer from the right point, rocketing past Rags goalie Henrik Lundqvist before the All-Star goalie could react.

“I didn’t see the puck so I was pretty much just guessing where it was going,” said Lundqvist of both Green’s game-winner and Backstrom’s second period goal.

Backstrom in turn offered praise for Green’s pinpoint blast, noting: “Before he was injured a lot, we used to see that all the time. It’s great for him and it’s great to see him score a goal. It gives him confidence. Huge goal for us.”

Green’s strike was the third time the Caps took a one-goal lead over the visiting boys in blue. Ovechkin first pierced Lundqvist’s bubble with a long wrist shot from the blue line at the 7:17 mark of the opening frame, shortly after Holtby came up huge with a pair of stops from point blank range to keep the game scoreless early on in the first.

Midway through the second period Backstrom again put Washington back on top with a hard-hustling shift immediately after a successful penalty kill. Corralling the puck in the corner in New York’s end, Backstrom delivered a hefty counter-hit to Artem Anisimov and dished behind the net to Jason Chimera, then glided to the high slot and zipped Chimera’s return pass into the top left corner.

Beyond giving the Caps a 2-1 lead, Backstrom’s goal was sweet revenge against Anisimov, who knotted the game at 1-1 just 1:10 into the second stanza when he grabbed a deflection off Brooks Laich’s skate and deftly stepped around Holtby’s outstretched right leg to slide the puck into the open net.

Although Laich’s attempt to block Dan Girardi’s shot led to Anisimov’s goal, shot-blocking was a point of emphasis for the Caps. Coming into this series, New York and Washington were one and two in terms of blocks, and the Caps blocked more shots (26) than the Rangers had shots on net (20) on Saturday afternoon. Jeff Schultz alone blocked nine Rangers attempts, more than New York’s total of seven blocks on the day.

““Everybody has their roles and you’ve seen the guys blocking shots,” offered Caps head coach Dale Hunter by way of praise for Schultz and others. “The big guns scored some big goals and the foot soldiers blocked shots.”

Green’s late-game heroics were needed due to a botched play by defensive corps mates Dennis Wideman and Jeff Schultz late in the second. Off a defensive zone faceoff, Rangers defenseman Marc Staal’s long clear curved over Wideman’s hand and down behind Washington’s net. Initially the defensive zone linesman raised his hand for icing, causing Wideman to slow down and expect Schultz to touch the puck up, while Schultz saw that the up-ice linesman waved the icing off and subsequently turned to pick up Rangers forward Marian Gaborik coming into the zone.

By the time both Caps defenders realized that icing was being waved off each expected the other to race for the puck, leaving Anisimov free to get to it first and slide a quick pass out to Gaborik in the slot, who zipped the puck through Holtby’s leg pads in a mirror image of his Game 3 overtime winner.

History would not repeat itself in overtime this time though, as Green’s slapshot broke the late-game tie and turned this best-of-seven series into a best-of-three.

Steady defenseman Karl Alzner, who led all Washington players with 22:09 TOI, credited Washington’s mental fortitude in bouncing back from the error. He allowed that he and his teammates made a “couple of mistakes here and there, but this is an extremely tough team to play against. I think we’re pretty happy with the resilience we’ve been showing and how we can battle back.”

Capitals-Rangers Game 5 is scheduled for Monday night at 7:30 pm at Madison Square Garden. Although Saturday’s Caps win guaranteed a Game 6 in Washington on Wednesday night, the official time for that game has not been set yet.

NOTES:

-Matt Hendricks was perfect from the faceoff dot, winning all nine draws, all but one against Brad Richards.

-With Saturday’s start, Braden Holtby now has the most playoff starts of any goalie on Washington’s roster. Michal Neuvirth has nine starts, all last season, and Tomas Vokoun earned five starts in 2006-07 as a member of the Nashville Predators. Dany Sabourin appeared in relief in two games for the Vancouver Canucks, also in the 2006-07 season.

-Ovechkin may be facing supplemental discipline from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for a second period hit on Girardi. Ovechkin was penalized two minutes for charging on the play, but appeared to leave his feet and Girardi’s head was the secondary point of contact.

*This story has been updated with post-game quotes.

Abram Fox is the Washington Capitals Page Editor for District Sports Page.  He has been covering the Capitals from the press box since the 2007-08 season.

The Rangers and Washington Capitals skated for nearly two full games: 114 minutes and 41 seconds, which ranks as the 20th longest NHL game in history.

All photos taken by Cheryl Nichols (@cnichols14) from the stands.

Braden Holtby leads the Caps onto the ice during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Matt Hendricks fans during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Matt Hendricks during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Braden Holtby stretching during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Fans asking John Carlson and Braden Holtby to their prom during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Dennis Wideman during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Alex Ovechkin during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Marcus Johnansson during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Mike Knuble during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Mike Green during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Michal Neuvirth during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Alex Semin during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Jason Chimera during warmups at Verizon Center (on his birthday), May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Fan Signs during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Troy Brouwer during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Jay Beagle during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Mathieu Perreault during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Alex Ovechkin during warmups at Verizon Center, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Washington Capitals played a solid game on May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Loud Goat leading Caps fans in a "Let's Go Caps!" chant, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Slapshot got the crowd fired up during one of the overtimes, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Caps sellout streak continues with 151st on May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Caps owner Ted Leonsis thanked the fans during second period, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Verizon Center was Rocking the Red, even in overtime on May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page-iPhone photo)

Caps fans started to celebrate when it looked like Alex Ovechkin had scored towards end of first overtime, however, puck hit the post,May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

Caps just couldn't get past Henrik Lundqvist, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

New York Rangers celebrate third overtime win, May 2 (Cheryl Nichols/District Sports Page)

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