Rangers Pick up Point in 4-3 OT Loss to Capitals

WASHINGTON - At this rate, the Rangers may end up playing an 85-game regular season, because for the third time in the last four games the Blueshirts took it to overtime, battling back in the third period to secure a point before falling in the extra session, 4-3, to the Washington Capitals.
No Ranger was celebrating the loss, but neither were they hanging their heads after earning three out of four points in a back-to-back set of games with Colorado and the defending Stanley Cup champs. Matt Niskanen's rebound goal 2:18 into the 3-on-3 overtime grabbed the victory for Washington, but because the Rangers erased a pair of Washington leads in regulation they have now earned points in three of their last four games (2-1-1).
"The way we battled, we certainly competed, that's for sure," David Quinn said. "Our power play delivered tonight. I like some of the things we're showing over the past week."

Neal Pionk set up all three Ranger goals, the three assists matching a career high (in just his 33rd NHL game). He also narrowly missed a buzzer-beating goal at the end of the second period, then was the man who drew the holding penalty on Nathan Walker for the power play on which the Rangers scored the third-period equalizer.
"Neal played outstanding, he probably was our best player," Quinn said. "Certainly had a lot of energy, did a great job on the power play, does a great job on our first goal. Like I've said before, he's a big piece of what we've got moving forward."
"I felt a little better tonight," said Pionk, who had his fourth career multi-point night. "Last night against Colorado took me a little bit to get into the game. I felt pretty comfortable tonight."

Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider and Jimmy Vesey each scored for the Rangers off setups from Pionk, who collected his first three points this season. Henrik Lundqvist made 34 saves in his second start (and second overtime game) in as many nights, and the Rangers scored once in each period, with Vesey's and Kreider's goals coming on power plays.
Those power plays were a factor for both teams, each of which went 2-for-4 on man-advantages, with Alex Ovechkin supplying both power-play markers for Washington on one-timers from the left circle. Defenseman John Carlson had a goal and two assists, and Nicklas Backstrom added a pair of helpers for the Capitals, who are now 9-for-17 (52.9%) on home-ice power plays.
"I liked our compete. We got down, I think we handled it pretty well," Marc Staal said. "I've been in this building a few times where they can keep piling it on even after they get a power-play goal. I thought we were smart and handled it well."
For the third straight game, the Rangers opened the scoring, this time with some speed and smarts from Pionk. Hopping over the boards to start a shift, Pionk laid off playing a puck because the player he was replacing was not yet off the ice. But then with both teams changing, Pionk retreated for a handoff from Lundqvist and, once he spotted all the open ice across from the benches, turned on the jets to create an odd-man rush from the blue line in and set up Kreider for a shot that Holtby kicked out and Zibanejad finished off.
After Carlson answered with a point blast through traffic off a faceoff, the next four goals in regulation came on power plays. Ovechkin scored two of them from the same spot in the second period, the first one of a saucer pass from Carlson that fooled Lundqvist, who didn't think Ovechkin could one-time it.
"I didn't expect him to shoot - at all," Lundqvist said. "He hit it hard, and when I realized he shot it, it was just hard to recover.
"But obviously I should know with that guy, he can shoot from anywhere. … I've played so many times against him I should know, be ready at all times. Yeah, he got me there."
Ovechkin's goals were sandwiched around Vesey's third of the season, cashing in when Pionk's wrister hit traffic in front of Braden Holtby (29 saves), who stopped Kevin Hayes on a shorthanded breakaway in the dying seconds of the middle period and was fortunate when Pionk, sprinting to follow Hayes up the ice, nudged the rebound inches wide.

In the third, after Pionk was held by Walker in the Rangers' zone, the 23-year-old blueliner spotted Kreider setting a screen a sent a wrist shot toward him, which Kreider redirected past Holtby to tie the game at 10:25 with his team-leading fourth of the season.
"He's got a sneaky wrister from the point, it's been working on the power play," Staal said of Pionk. "He just gets it to the net quick, I think it surprised them a couple times.

"He gets some ice out there, he's able to make some plays. He played great out there tonight."
The Rangers return home for their next two games, hosting Calgary on Sunday and Florida on Tuesday, before setting off on a four-game trip out West.
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