Kreider lifts Rangers by Capitals 4-3
HOCKEY: All of 40 seconds into Game 6, Chris Kreider scored for the New York Rangers. Did it again with all of 0.3 seconds left in the first period.
And after the Rangers nearly let all of a three-goal lead slip away, Henrik Lundqvist helped them hang on.
Once so close to being out of the playoffs altogether, the Rangers are suddenly a Game 7 victory away from eliminating the Washington Capitals and returning to the Eastern Conference finals.
Kreider got things started with his goals, Rick Nash put his first of the series into the net 54 seconds into the third period, and Dan Boyle tacked on a score that turned out to be vital, helping the Rangers hold on to edge the Capitals 4-3 on Sunday night in Washington and even the second-round series at three games apiece.
“We went back on our heels a little bit, and they just kept pushing,” New York center Derek Stepan said. “Luckily, we had four, because we needed all four of them.”
New York led 2-0 thanks to Kreider – the 24-year-old dynamo out of Boston College with 16 career playoff goals already, including four in this series – then 4-1 with less than 12½ minutes left.
“We just can’t put ourselves in that hole,” Capitals forward Tom Wilson said.
But Evgeny Kuznetsov and Joel Ward put the puck past Lundqvist less than 3 minutes apart to make it a one-goal game with nearly half a period to go.
The Presidents’ Trophy winners this season and Stanley Cup runners-up a year ago trailed 3-1 in this series and 1-0 with 101 seconds left in the third period of Game 5. But that’s when Kreider scored to tie it, before Ryan McDonagh won it in overtime.
“We’ve been technically in our Game 7 (mindset) since we were down 3-1,” Boyle said.
After two days off, the teams will wrap things up Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden – a fitting finish for a matchup in which each of the first six games was decided by one goal.
“Probably not the path, when you’re up 3-1, that you want to take,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz conceded. “We’ve just got to go into sort of the lion’s den, if you will.”
• Ducks douse Flames: Corey Perry scored on a goalmouth scramble 2:26 into overtime and Anaheim advanced to the Western Conference finals with a 3-2 victory over visiting Calgary in Game 5 of their second-round series.
Matt Beleskey got the tying power-play goal early in the third period for the Ducks, who will face the Chicago Blackhawks for a spot in the Stanley Cup finals.
• U.S. in quarterfinals: Brock Nelson scored twice and added an assist as the United States clinched a spot in the quarterfinals of the ice hockey world championship with a 3-1 victory over Slovenia in Prague.
The Czech Republic and defending champion Russia also advanced to the knockout stage, while already-qualified Canada maintained a perfect record by trashing Switzerland 7-2 to clinch first place in its group.
The Czechs beat Germany 4-2 while Russia needed overtime to overcome Slovakia 3-2.
Nelson has six goals.
The United States is atop Group B with 15 points from six games, one ahead of Russia
Cavendish wins first California stage
CYCLING: Britain’s Mark Cavendish powered past Slovakia’s Peter Sagan just before the finish line to win the first stage of the Tour of California.
Cavendish, a 25-time Tour de France stage winner, raced to his 10th victory of the season, finishing the 126.2-mile flat road race in 4 hours, 43 minutes, 27 seconds. He also won Tour of California stages in Sacramento in 2010 and last year, also on the opening day.
Sagan, the four-time sprint competition winner in the Tour de France and an 11-time stage winner at the Tour of California, was second in the same time.
Jean-Pierre Drucker of Luxembourg was third in the mass sprint, also in the same time.
• German wins women’s title: Germany’s Trixi Worrack won the Tour of California women’s title on bonus time and Canada’s Leah Kirchmann took her second straight stage in the three-leg event.
Worrack finished fourth in the stage. She claimed the overall title by 5 seconds over Kirchmann after gaining 13 mid-race sprint bonus seconds in intermediate sprints.
American Lauren Komanski, who began the final stage with a 3-second-race lead over Worrack, finished sixth in the stage and placed third overall.
• Viviani takes Giro stage: Elia Viviani timed his sprint to perfection to win the second stage of the Giro d’Italia in Genoa, Italy, while Michael Matthews moved into the overall lead on a day marred by several crashes.
Viviani edged out Dutchman Moreno Hofland by half a wheel to claim his first win in a grand tour. Andre Greipel went too early and finished third.
Matthews finished seventh on the mainly flat, 110-mile route from Albenga to Genoa to take the leader’s pink jersey from teammate Simon Gerrans.
Murray defeats Nadal for second clay win
MISCELLANY: Andy Murray beat Rafael Nadal on clay for the first time, dominating the Madrid Open tennis final to win 6-3, 6-2 against the four-time champion.
It was Murray’s first Masters title on clay, a week after his maiden career tournament victory on the red surface at the Munich Open.
Murray dictated most of the long rallies, which lasted up to 24 strokes, displaying a level of confidence that has often been lacking for the Briton on clay.
It was Nadal’s fourth loss on clay this year, raising questions about his ability to win a 10th French Open title.
• Wambach scores twice: Abby Wambach scored twice and the U.S. defeated Ireland 3-0 in San Jose in an exhibition soccer match in preparation for the Women’s World Cup.
It was the Americans’ fifth straight shutout, and goalie Hope Solo added to her U.S. record with the 83rd of her career.
• Bengals sign Pryor, Cougar: Cincinnati signed quarterback Terrelle Pryor at the end of their rookie minicamp, giving him a chance to compete for the back-up job.
The Bengals also signed defensive tackle Kalafitoni Pole from Washington State, and tight end John Peters from Mount St. Joseph’s.