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Chimera's goal in 2nd OT lifts Caps to 3-1 series lead

Apr 21, 2011 - 4:46 AM New York, NY (Sports Network) - Jason Chimera's tally with 7:24 left in the second overtime sent Washington over the New York Rangers, 4-3, in Game 4 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series at Madison Square Garden.

Chimera was the beneficiary of a turnover by Rangers netminder Henrik Lundqvist. Marcus Johansson shot from the right circle, but it was partially blocked and rolled in on the Swedish goaltender. He decided to flick away the puck with his stick, but it rose, struck an onrushing Chimera in the chest, and rolled over the goal line.

"It hit my chest and went down," Chimera said of the unexpected gift. "It felt like forever until it went down to my stick. It was a good effort by us in the third period and what a comeback. Once we got one, we felt them sit back a bit. We took advantage of it."

Johansson scored twice and Alexander Semin once for the Capitals, who now own a commanding 3-1 series lead and can advance to the next round with a win in Game 5 on Saturday in America's capital.

Michal Neuvirth stopped 36-of-39 shots as the East's top seed won two overtime games in one series for the first time since 1998.

"That was a fabulous hockey game, two warrior teams going at it and leaving nothing on the ice," gushed Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau. "This has been one hell of a series so far. I don't anticipate anything different."

Marian Gaborik and Brandon Dubinsky scored seven seconds apart in the second period for the Rangers, who wasted a three-goal third-period advantage in defeat.

Lundqvist was otherwise strong in the loss, making 49 stops.

"Losing an overtime game in the playoffs hurts all of the time but our team will bounce back," said Rangers head coach John Tortorella. "We can't look at the hill. We have to win the next game. We have to find a way to win one hockey game and we will see what happens from there."

Following a scoreless first period, the Rangers picked up the game's first goal at 5:24 of the second when Artem Anisimov followed up a Chris Drury miss and managed to sneak his shot home from behind the goal line.

Gaborik and Dubinsky then appeared to give New York an iron-clad 3-0 advantage with just over six minutes to play in the frame.

On the first tally, Ruslan Fedotenko chased down a dump-in behind Neuvirth and made a spinning pass in front for Gaborik's one-timer at 13:40. Dubinsky then carried into the Washington zone and ripped a low shot home after the faceoff at 13:47.

Semin got the Caps on the board less than three minutes into the third period when his third-chance poke at a puck at the right post slid home, then Johansson brought the visitors within one at 3:44 on a tip-in of a Brooks Laich pass.

A left-point blast from John Carlson was deflected in front by Johansson and Washington drew even with 7:53 left in regulation.

Lundqvist saved the Rangers with 8:58 left in the first overtime, when he gloved down Alex Ovechkin's breakaway shot. He added three more saves during a Caps power play later in OT.

"We had a tough time getting pucks out and we paid for it. They are a good team. We talked about being very careful with the puck," Lundqvist admitted. "They are a dangerous team that can make some plays. They were back in it."

Game Notes

The Capitals won three OT contests in the 1998 East finals against Buffalo in a six-game triumph...This marked the longest playoff game between the clubs, eclipsing the original mark set in Game 1 of this series...New York's Rod Gilbert still holds the franchise record for fastest two goals, scoring in a six-second span during a quarterfinal series against the Blackhawks on April 11, 1968...Chimera took the place of Mike Knuble, who missed the game with an undisclosed injury...Washington last held a 3-1 series edge over the Rangers in a 1990 Patrick Division final, and closed out New York in a Game 5 overtime decision.