RANGERS VS CAPITALS POST GAME WRAP UP 11/24

RANGERS DROP SECOND IN A ROW, GARDEN STREAK ENDS AT 7

3 Unanswered 2nd Period Goals from Caps leads to 5-3 Home Loss

Things looked to be going the Rangers way heading into the midway point of the second period with a 2-0 lead on goals from Jimmy Hayes, a tic, tac, toe play between Vesey, Jesper Fast and Kevin Hayes that gave the Blueshirts the 1-0 lead in the first period then a bullet of a shot from Brady Skjei past netminder Pheonix Copley to make it 2-0 at 9:39.

But the wheels fell off the wagon just 30 seconds later as Nic Dowd put the Capitals just 1 goal behind 2-1, Although the young Rangers had their chances especially from the line of Vesey, Hayes and Fast the Caps were able to continue their comeback. Jakub Vrana tied the game with 5:33 left on the clock and then Alex Ovechkin beat Alexandar Georgiev for the go ahead goal with 30 seconds remaining in the middle period. Another late period goal given up by the Rangers, a problem that has plagued them the entire season.

The Rangers looked to gain ground in the third period when Ryan Strome off a beautiful back hand pass from rookie Brett Howden swooped around the Caps net and finished the wraparound past the empty net side of Copley to tie the game 3-3. With both teams getting chances but Georgiev and Copley standing their ground the Caps were the ones to finally take advantage with a goal from Brett Connolly to put them ahead with under 7 minutes left in regulation for the 4-3 lead. Washington would add an empty net goal with Georgiev on the bench for the extra skater at the end of the period as Tom Wilson clearly hit Rangers forward Chris Kreider from behind, a missed call from the officials which instead of a Rangers man advantage turned into a blue line empty net goal for the Caps.

FINAL GAME STATS

New York Rangers 3  Washington Capitals 5

SOG: NYR 30 WSH 28
PIM: NYR 4 WSH 4
PPO: NYR 0/2 WSH 0/2
HITS: NYR 42 WSH 33
BLKS: NYR 8 WSH 11
GVA: NYR 23  WSH 18
FO%: NYR 64% WSH  36%

GOALTENDERS:
NYR: A. GEORGIEV 24 SV, 5 GA
WSH: P. COPLEY 27 SV, 3 GA

GOALS
Washington - A. Ovechkin, B. Connolly, J. Vrana, N. Dowd, T. Wilson
New York - B. Skjei, J. Vesey, R. Strome

SCORING SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
09:12 New York Jimmy Vesey (8) ASST: Jesper Fast (7), Kevin Hayes (10) 0-1

2ND PERIOD
09:39 New York Brady Skjei (2) ASST: Brendan Smith (4), Kevin Hayes (11) 0-2
10:10 Washington Nic Dowd (2) ASST: John Carlson (18), Brett Connolly (9) 1-2
16:27 Washington Jakub Vrana (6) 2-2
19:30 Washington Alex Ovechkin (17) ASST: John Carlson (19), Dmitry Orlov (7) 3-2

3RD PERIOD
05:30 New York Ryan Strome (2) ASST: Brett Howden (9), Neal Pionk (11) 3-3
13:36 Washington Brett Connolly (4) ASST: John Carlson (20), Jakub Vrana (8) 4-3
18:52 Washington EN - Tom Wilson (4) ASST: Michal Kempny (4) 5-3

PENALTY SUMMARY
1ST PERIOD
00:25 New York Jesper Fast - Tripping - 2 minutes
06:59 New York Jimmy Vesey - High-sticking - 2 minutes
17:27 Washington Tom Wilson - Interference - 2 minutes

2ND PERIOD
00:59 Washington Lars Eller - Hooking - 2 minutes

3RD PERIOD
No Penalties