Diskussionen » Hosts the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) In a game that didn’t feel much like the postseason http://www.officialflyersproshop.com/authentic-adidas-nolan-patrick-jersey , the Washington Capitals gave future playoff opponents fair warning about how they handle tight games.Outshot by a team eliminated from contention, Washington stayed close before tying it late and beating the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime on Wednesday night. Braden Holtby stopped 35 of 37 shots, Lars Eller forced overtime and Evgeny Kuznetsov won it to push the Metropolitan Division-leading Capitals closer to their fourth consecutive playoff appearance.Even if it wasn’t the kind of showing the Capitals would like to have come playoff time, Eller’s goal with 1:50 left and Kuznetsov’s 38 seconds into overtime showed what they could do when it matters.”I think we play better when it’s close,” Holtby said. ”With our skill, I think it forces us to turn things on late in the game and I think guys take that as a challenge. That’s I think a reason why you can see us bring it to a next level to try and force the other team into feeling a bit of panic and open up space.”There was little panic in the Rangers, who were playing their first game with no playoff implications since 2004, and they turned that looseness into a 37-33 shot advantage. Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves and Kevin Hayes and Ryan Spooner scored, but New York lamented a defensive miscue on Eller’s goal that let the game slip away.”So frustrating Scott Laughton Jersey ,” Lundqvist said after his first game with no hope of playoffs in his NHL career. ”When you’re tied up that late after playing so hard and doing so many good things, it doesn’t matter where you are in the standings, you want to win games and sit in here and feel good about a win. They came back and got it. It bothers me.”After the Capitals came back and got two valuable points, they can clinch with help around the league or by picking up a point Friday at home against Carolina. There are lower expectations on Washington this year after back-to-back Presidents’ Trophies and second-round exits, but Holtby said making the playoffs was a goal at the start of the season.It’s within reach now.”It’s the first step on the way,” Eller said. ”We want to win our division and go into the playoffs on a high note.”Holtby looks like he could be heading into the playoffs on a high note after almost two months of struggles and a minor lower-body injury. He would have liked to stop Spooner’s third-period goal on a shot that beat him clean, but with a question of whether Holtby or Philipp Grubauer will start, it helped that the 2016 Vezina Trophy winner finally looks like his normal self again.”I felt comfortable,” Holtby said. ”It’s something I’m not used to – not playing much. The stamina and such was a little different than I was used to Womens Sean Couturier Jersey , but it felt good to go out there and just get to work and play in a high-intensity game.”There are many more high-intensity games to come for the Capitals, who can soon exhale about making the playoffs and prepare for the next step.”The NHL how it is, it doesn’t really matter where you are in the standings,” Holtby said. ”The guys should be proud. We should be proud we’re in a position like that.”NOTES: Rangers assistant Lindy Ruff missed the game after hitting his head on the ice at practice Thursday. Coach Alain Vigneault said Ruff was hospitalized and diagnosed with a concussion but was in good spirits and expected to be back with the team in a few days. … F Shane Gersich, a 2014 fifth-round pick who signed with Washington last week after his season at North Dakota ended, made his NHL debut. … Pheonix Copley backed up Holtby because Grubauer felt a ”tweak” in the Capitals’ game at the Rangers on Tuesday, according to coach Barry Trotz.UP NEXTRangers: Return home to face the playoff-bound Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night.Capitals: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.— VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) Mike Fisher’s return to the Predators quickly became a coming-out-of-retirement party.Fisher scored in his first game back and Calle Jarnkrok won it 43 seconds into overtime as Nashville beat the Vancouver Canucks 4-3 on Friday night for its seventh consecutive victory.The 37-year-old Fisher, who announced his retirement just more than six months ago http://www.officialflyersproshop.com/authentic-adidas-shayne-gostisbehere-jersey , changed his mind and decided to come back for an eighth season with the Predators. He returned to practice with the team earlier in February and signed a one-year deal.”They say sometimes rest is a weapon. We’ll see,” Fisher said. ”I was trying to keep the shifts as short as possible, but it was easy fitting in with my linemates, the team, the way they have been playing and working. It was fun.”If rest is indeed a weapon, the Predators seemed intent on using it Friday. They opted to give the night off to four regular players: Roman Josi, Craig Smith, Scott Hartnell and Yannick Weber. The victory in their absence showed just how much depth there is in Nashville’s lineup.”We had a couple guys gone today, but we still managed to win the game and we played a great hockey game Travis Konecny Jersey ,” Jarnkrok said.Kevin Fiala and Ryan Ellis also had goals for the Predators (41-14-9), who matched their longest winning streak since November 2009. The defending Western Conference champions lead the West by four points over expansion Vegas.Backup goalie Juuse Saros made 24 saves for Nashville, which holds the top spot in the Central Division.”They’re deep throughout their lineup,” said Brandon Sutter, who scored one of Vancouver’s goals. ”They have four lines that can score. Their D is probably the strongest D corps in the league. But we stuck with them all night. It was a pretty solid effort for us.”Bo Horvat and Daniel Sedin also scored for Vancouver (24-32-9), which is 3-8-3 in its past 14 games. Jacob Markstrom was impressive with 39 saves.Alex Edler, who has played his entire career in Vancouver, had two assists to surpass Mattias Ohlund for most points by a Canucks defenseman with 326.”It means a lot to be up there with (Mattias),” Edler said. ”He was a mentor for me. It was great for me to have him here my first year. How he played on the ice and how he acted off the ice Adam Cracknell Jersey Womens , too. I’m very grateful for that.”Vancouver scored first while on the power play, off a faceoff in the Predators zone. Edler ripped a shot from the blue line that Horvat tipped in at 5:55 of the first period.The Canucks made it 2-0 with five minutes remaining in the second as Sutter carried the puck from the side boards into traffic and scored on a backhand.The Predators got on the board minutes later when Fisher swatted in a rolling puck following Filip Forsberg’s shot. He almost scored again early in the third with a shot from the slot, but hit the post.Nashville tied it midway through the period during a 4-on-4. Fiala fired a hard wrist shot from near the faceoff circle that went into the top corner.Vancouver jumped ahead 3-2 on a power play. Sedin took a pass from twin brother Henrik Sedin and lifted his own rebound for his eighth goal in eight games.The Predators tied it again with just more than two minutes left. Ellis’ drive from the blue line cleared enough traffic to squeak by Markstrom and force overtime.Jarnkrok won it when he fired a shot from the hash mark that beat Markstrom.NOTES: The Canucks shut down winger Loui Eriksson (rib injury) on Thursday for the remainder of the season. … Canucks forward Sven Baertschi left early in the second after taking a hard check from Alexei Emelin. Baertschi went to the locker room clutching his shoulder and did not return.UP NEXTPredators: Sunday afternoon at Colorado.Canucks: Host the New York Islanders on Monday night.—