Attempting to break the puck out of their zone, the Rangers weren't firm enough. With Wilson and Ovechkin bearing down on him along the half wall in New York ice, Rangers forward Michael Grabner tried to feed Zuccarello for the exit. But the pass was rushed, and it went into Zuccarello's skates and bounded in the direction of the New York net. Zuccarello dove to try to sweep it out of the slot, but to no avail. Backstrom got there first, and the caps center pivoted and snapped a shot that went bar down behind Lundqvist for a 2-0 Washington lead at 11:07 of the second.
New York halved the Caps' lead in the final minute of the frame, making it a 2-1 game when Grabner beat Holtby with 56.9 seconds left in the second.
Fast's goal could have been a backbreaker for the Capitals; it came just 14 seconds after Washington won an offensive-zone draw. Ex-Caps forward Paul Carey made a good play behind the Washington net, winning the puck and feeding Fast in front. Fast beat Holtby high to the far side, tying the game at 2-2 at 9:37.
That was as good as it would get for the Rangers, though.
"We got that goal at the end of the second period and were able to tie it in the third," says Rangers coach Alain Vigneault, "then we've got a controlled breakout, a controlled situation. We know what their controlled forecheck is going to be. One of our guys doesn't do the right route. [There is a] turnover, and the turnover ends up in the back of our net. Unfortunately, it's something that we didn't do as well as we should have and it cost us. After that, we couldn't get it tied up."