Bruins vs Red Wings

WASHINGTON -- Washington Capitals center Jay Beagle prides himself on more than scoring goals, but hitting the post was getting old.

Until he finally scored.

"I've always said, when you're getting chances you're doing the right things," Beagle said. "When you're not getting the chances, you have to tweak something, and finally I got a nice bounce to go in. It obviously felt nice."

For additional insight into the Eastern Conference Second Round series between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers, NHL.com has enlisted the help of Dave Farrish to break down the action. Farrish will be checking in throughout the series.

Farrish was an assistant coach for the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs from 2005-14.

He won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007. He also coached 1,027 games in the minor leagues, including the American Hockey League. In addition, Farrish, a former defenseman, played 430 games over seven seasons in the NHL.

Dave Farrish believed the New York Rangers would respond from their last-second loss to the Washington Capitals in Game 1 with a more aggressive approach in Game 2. It took the Rangers 38 seconds to assert themselves Saturday when Chris Kreider fired a rebound of Jesper Fast's shot into an open net that gave them a 1-0 lead, a game they won 3-2 to even the Eastern Conference Second Round best-of-7 series at 1-1.

Fast replaced J.T. Miller on the Rangers' second line to play with Kreider and Derek Stepan, a subtle move by coach Alain Vigneault that helped open up an offense that averaged two goals per game entering Game 2. Fast had an assist and two hits in 15:05 of ice time.

NEW YORK -- Right wing Chris Kreider does everything fast.

The New York Rangers forward scored 38 seconds into Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, sparking a 3-2 win against the Washington Capitals that evened the best-of-7 series.

Kreider continued to have an impact for the final 59 minutes.

"He has a huge influence on the game for us, the way he can skate, the way he can hit and shoot, the physicality," Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh said. "When he's putting all three of those together, it's a tough combo to defend for anyone. So it's a good sign for him today that he was able to get going.

"He has to continue that for us if we want to be successful against this team."

For additional insight into the Eastern Conference Second Round series between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers, NHL.com has enlisted the help of Dave Farrish to break down the action. Farrish will be checking in throughout the series.

Farrish was an assistant coach for the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs from 2005-14. He won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007. He also coached 1,027 games in the minor leagues, including the American Hockey League. In addition, Farrish, a former defenseman, played 430 games over seven seasons in the NHL.

Dave Farrish has probably gotten hoarse at points during his career preaching to his teams about playing to the whistle, never stopping, and putting in a full 60-minute effort.

The New York Rangers found out the hard way what happens when you don't do all of that Thursday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference Second Round series against the Washington Capitals.

Forward Joel Ward scored with 1.3 seconds remaining because he was wide open in front of the net to receive a pass from Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin. Washington won the game 2-1 and took a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series that continues Saturday with Game 2 at Madison Square Garden (12:30 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVA Sports).

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The devastation the New York Rangers felt after losing on a last-second goal Thursday gave way to a work day Friday that was about learning from their mistakes.

"It's just a loss," center Derek Stepan said. "We're moving on to Game 2."

Joel Ward's goal with 1.3 seconds remaining gave the Washington Capitals a 2-1 win and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Second Round series.

Game 2 is Saturday at Madison Square Garden (12:30 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVA Sports).

"A loss is a loss in the playoffs, and to tell you the truth none of them, whether it be playoffs or regular season, are easy to digest," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "What you've gotta do is you've gotta learn from the games that you play. There's definitely things that we can learn from [Thursday] night."

NEW YORK -- Washington Capitals right wing Joel Ward knew just enough Russian to score the winning goal with 1.3 seconds remaining in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round against the New York Rangers on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

When asked how to say "I'm open" in Russian, Ward smiled and said "Ovi."

Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin heard Ward, who was unchecked in the slot, and slid a pass to him as the third period was running out. Ward fired Ovechkin's feed through Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist's legs to give the Capitals a 2-1 victory and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.

NEW YORK -- The New York Rangers were obviously still stunned in the dressing room Thursday after they lost 2-1 against the Washington Capitals on Joel Ward's goal with 1.3 seconds remaining in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Second Round at Madison Square Garden.

It was a tough loss for the Rangers, who will try to bounce back in Game 2 on Saturday (12:30 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVA Sports). And if they do, it will likely be the result of capitalizing on more offensive chances.

The Rangers had a strong start, outshooting the Capitals 8-1 before eight minutes passed. But they were unable to solve Washington goalie Braden Holtby (31 saves), who was busier in the first period Thursday than all of Game 7 of the first round against the New York Islanders on Monday, when he made 10 saves in a 2-1 win.

"Our execution in the offensive zone obviously needs to be better," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "We spent quite a bit of time in their end. We had some opportunities to get better looks than we did. We are going to have to [get better looks]. That's going to be one of our focuses for the next game."

Goaltending plays an integral part in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. NHL.com decided to break down the highest profile matchup in the Eastern Conference Second Round: Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers and Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals.

Much like many goaltending coaches will do before a playoff series, NHL.com correspondent Kevin Woodley, the managing editor of InGoal Magazine, charted every goal scored against each goalie in this matchup this season with the help of a program from Double Blue Sport Analytics. The graphics showing where goals went in and shots were taken from on the ice are nice, but the real value is tracking and analyzing the types of plays that led to them, and whether they reveal strengths, weaknesses and tendencies that can be targeted.

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The rivalry between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals is real. There is no denying that.

It's a rivalry built from four meetings in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in a span of five years from 2009-13. It's a rivalry built from three seven-game series, from comebacks and from six postseason overtime games, including one that went three extra periods.

But it's also a rivalry that likely will take on a different look in the 2015 Eastern Conference Second Round, which begins with Game 1 on Thursday at Madison Square Garden (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

The Rangers and Capitals have undergone drastic changes in personnel and style since they played in the 2013 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

"I can't see it resembling anything from two years ago," Rangers left wing Rick Nash said. "New coaches, new systems, and the game evolves in two years."

Familiar opponents in the Stanley Cup Playoffs will meet again, this time in the Eastern Conference Second Round. The New York Rangers and Washington Capitals will play in a playoff series for the fifth time since 2009.

No teams have played against one another more in the playoffs the past seven seasons.

The Rangers got to the second round by defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in five games. The Capitals needed a goal from Evgeny Kuznetsov late in the third period of Game 7 on Monday to eliminate the New York Islanders.