Rangers edge Capitals to advance in NHL playoffs

Brad Richards and Michael Del Zotto each scored goals and Henrik Lundqvist made 22 saves to lead the New York Rangers over Washington 2-1 and into the NHL Eastern Conference finals. The Rangers defeated the Capitals four games to three in the best-of-seven second-round series and will play the New Jersey Devils for a berth in the NHL Stanley Cup Final. Either the Rangers or Devils will face the Western Conference winners, the Phoenix Coyotes or the Los Angeles Kings, in the championship series. Richards scored 92 seconds into the opening period to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead, a good omen for New York since teams that scored first had won every prior game in the series. Del Zotto scored with 9:55 remaining in the third period to give the Rangers a 2-0 edge but the Capitals answered only 38 seconds later when Roman Hamrlik netted his first goal of the playoffs to pull Washington back within one goal. The Rangers shut down the Capitals from there and after the final second ticked off the clock, Sweden's Lundqvist raised his arms in victory, having advanced to the conference final for the first time in his career. "We've played this way all year," Richards said. "It hasn't been easy. We would like to do it a little differently. We never make things easy. It was a battle right to the end. But it's still nice to win it." Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby, a 22-year-old Canadian who became a father for the first time two days earlier, made 29 saves in a losing cause.