Pavelec makes 30 saves, Rangers shut out Capitals

NEW YORK -- Ondrej Pavelec made 30 saves for his first shutout since March 22, 2016, and the New York Rangers defeated the Washington Capitals 1-0 in a shootout at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello scored in the shootout. Pavelec stopped T.J. Oshie and Alex Ovechkin. He has allowed four goals on 119 shots (.966 save percentage) in his three starts this month.

"That's my job," Pavelec said. "I know it sounds like a cliché, but it wasn't easy for me, not at all. After the three-day holiday] break, I didn't know what I was going to see, but surprisingly I felt really good. I'm happy for the two points. To lose this one, it would be really tough for me."
***[WATCH: [All Capitals vs. Rangers highlights]*
New York (20-13-4), which lost its past two games (0-1-1), won for the 13th time in its past 16 home games and remained in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers are three points behind of the Capitals and Columbus Blue Jackets, who are tied for second.
The Rangers outshot the Capitals 18-6 in the third period. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said his staff had them with a 13-2 edge in scoring chances in the third.
"We found a way to win and I think we deserved to win the way we were playing," Pavelec said.
The Capitals (22-13-3), who lost in the shootout for the first time this season (2-1), have lost three in a row (0-1-2) and haven't scored in the past 145:01, since Evgeny Kuznetsov's goal at 4:32 of the third period in a 3-2 overtime loss at the Arizona Coyotes on last Friday.
Philipp Grubauer made 37 saves for his first shutout of the season, but Ovechkin said he didn't think the Capitals did enough to test Pavelec.

"I think we had a couple of good chances, but I think throughout the whole game he was able to see the shots and there was no traffic," Ovechkin said. "When we had the opportunity to shoot the puck, we tried to make a play. Sometimes, if you have one chance, you have to use it and put it in, and we didn't."
Capitals coach Barry Trotz was particularly upset with his team's play in the third period.
"We stunk," Trotz said. "I mean, the only reason we got a point is Grubauer. We mismanaged the puck in the middle of the ice. We turned pucks over. We had I don't know how many turnovers in the first shift in the third period, and that's got to be our go-to group."
Washington also couldn't convert on its two power plays, dropping to 1-for-22 in the past nine games.
"I don't think we executed," Ovechkin said. "We need to play simple. We don't move the puck well. We're better than that."

The Rangers were particularly happy with how they limited the Capitals chances and shots. They hadn't allowed fewer than 35 shots on goal in five straight games. They were giving up 37.7 per game in their first 11 games this month.
"I think it started with our forecheck," Rangers defenseman Marc Staal said. "I think we were better in their end and it allowed us, the 'D', to have tighter gaps. We were right in their face all night and through the neutral zone they weren't really getting anything. They were getting a lot of chips and dumps, not a lot of rush chances. Definitely, we did a lot better job in that area."
The result was the Rangers played with the puck more than they have in recent games, especially in the third period, when they forced Grubauer to make eight saves in the first 3:14 and 14 through the first 9:04.
"Playing with the puck quick, making the right decisions, you can create some great looks offensively," Vigneault said. "I thought we did."

Goal of the game

Zuccarello's goal in the first round of the shootout.

Save of the game

Pavelec's save on Ovechkin's slap shot from the right circle 2:15 into overtime.

#

Highlight of the game

Ovechkin's failed shootout attempt to end the game.

#

They said it

"We have to come back and start over. We have to play smarter and simpler. I think we don't make simple plays. We don't execute the play." -- Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin
"[Pavelec] has been really good. He's worked really hard in practice with [goalie coach Benoit Allaire] every day. It's not an easy thing to do, every day come into practice and not play in the game, but he's stayed sharp. He's been impressive." -- Rangers defenseman Marc Staal

Need to know

Rangers forward Chris Kreider didn't play after the first period because of an upper-body injury. Vigneault said Kreider's status will be updated Thursday. Kreider played seven shifts totaling 5:04 in the first period and had two shots on goal.

What's next

Capitals:Host the Boston Bruins on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN360, SNE, SNW, SNP, TVA Sports, NESN, NHL.TV)
Rangers: At the Detroit Red Wings on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-D, MSG, NHL.TV)