Capitals Squander Two-Goal Lead, Collapse In Third Period, Fall To Rangers, 5-2

Posted on March 30, 2021 by Jon Sorensen
Photo: @Capitals

The New York Rangers rallied to beat the Washington Capitals, 5-2, on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden in New York. The loss drops the Capitals record to 23-8-4 (50 points) on the season.

T.J. Oshie opened the scoring with a power play goal 2:33 into the contest and Nic Dowd added a tally just two minutes later to give the Capitals an early 2-0 lead. But it would be all Rangers from there. The Rangers would cut the Capitals lead in half with a breakaway goal from Filip Chytil late in the first frame to make it 2-1 at the first intermission.

After a scoreless middle frame, the Rangers tied the game early in the final frame with a goal from Kaapo Kakko and grabbed their first lead of the game with a goal from Adam Fox, to make it 3-2. Artemi Panrin would add a late goal and Pavel Buchnevich added an empty net goal for the 5-2 final.

STATS

STARTERS

Vitek Vanecek (14-5-0-3, 2.67 GAA, .910 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the visiting Capitals. Igor Shesterkin  (7-8-0-1, 2.34 GAA, .924 sv%) started in goal for the Rangers. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:

Scratches: Jonas Siegenthaler, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Richard Panik.

FIRST PERIOD

The Capitals opened the scoring with a power play goal form T.J. Oshie (9) at 2:23 of the first period. Nicklas Backstrom (24) and John Carlson (22) had the helpers.

The Capitals would quickly make it 2-0 with a tally from Nic Dowd (7) at 4:21 of the first period. Garnet Hathaway (8) and Brenden Dillon (9) would get the helpers.

The Rangers would dent the scoreboard late in the first frame with a breakaway goal from Filip Chytil (6) at 15:36 of the first period.

The first period concluded with the Capitals holding on to a 2-1 lead. The Capitals led in shot attempts 14-13 and shots on goal 12-10 in the first frame. Washington was 1 for 1 and the Rangers 0 for 2 on the power play after two periods.

SECOND PERIOD

The Capitals and Rangers skated to a scoreless draw in the second period.

The Rangers led in shot attempts 10-9 with attempts tied 23-23 after two periods.

The Rangers were 0 for 2 and the Capitals 1 for 2 on the power play after 40 minutes of play. The Capitals led 58-42% at the faceoff circle.

THIRD PERIOD

The Rangers tied the game with a goal from Kaapo Kakko (5) at 4:10 of the third period.

The Rangers would quickly grab their first lead of the night with a goal from Adam Fox (4) at 6:32 of the third period, making it 3-2.

Artemi Panarin would stretch the Rangers lead to 4-2 with a goal late in the final frame.

Pavel Buchnevich would add an empty net goal for the 5-2 final.

The Capitals are back in action on Thursday when they visit the Islanders. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM.

POSSESSION METRICS

SHAVINGS

  • Nic Dowd scored his seventh goal of the season to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead. With the goal, Dowd has matched his goal total from last season in 21 fewer games.
  • T.J. Oshie opened the scoring on a power play goal, marking Oshie’s ninth goal of the year and sixth on the power play.

By Jon Sorensen

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.
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