"I just got a good bounce," says Connolly. "I was just trying to go to the net. I saw it, I grabbed it, and I turned around and fired it quickly. [Lundqvist] obviously wasn't expecting it, and it was fortunate to see that one go in."
Early in the third, the Caps added to their lead when Johansson struck again on the prettiest tally of the night. Kuznetsov carried into the New York zone down the right side with Johansson driving the center lane. The Caps center slid a sublime backhand feed toward his linemate, and Johansson was able to get just the right amount of it, deftly redirecting it into the far top corner for a 3-1 Washington lead just 75 seconds after the third period got underway.
Washington penalty killers snuffed out a couple more New York power plays in the second, but the Rangers didn't have much going on in the way of offensive threats. When New York finally went shorthanded for a second time late in the third, Caps center Nicklas Backstrom scored on his fellow Swede, bouncing a shot off Skjei's stick and past Lundqvist at 17:57 of the final frame.
"We started real well," says Rangers coach Alain Vigneault. "I really liked our first period. "I thought we competed; thought we executed. In the second period, their top players seemed like they took their gear to another level, and we didn't follow. Our top players didn't execute and compete as hard as theirs. They dominated, without a doubt, the second period. And in the third, we had a couple opportunities, our power play had a couple opportunities, and our guys didn't get it done."
The game marked the Washington debut of defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, obtained from St. Louis less than 24 hours earlier. He looked sharp in logging 17:57 of ice time and registering four shots on net, doing so without the benefit of any practice or morning skate time with his new teammates.
"It was tough at first but then I think once we went down 1-0 it felt like I was back in a regular hockey game," says Shattenkirk. "It's amazing what that can do to you and how that can bring a bunch of guys together, and we can all start focusing on the right thing. It was just a fun game to be out there and fun to come back in an away building, in that environment, and get a win."
With Tuesday's triumph over the Rangers, the Caps have now earned at least one win over each of the other 15 Eastern Conference clubs this season.