Matt Bradley scored his first two playoff goals and rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov posted his second shutout of the opening round as the Washington Capitals beat the New York Rangers 4-0 in game five on Friday night to avoid elimination.
The seventh-seeded Rangers, who benched Sean Avery, lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 heading to game six in New York today.
Alexander Semin also scored for No. 2 Washington and the Rangers pulled goalie Henrik Lundqvist after two periods, replacing him with Steve Valiquette.
PHOTO: AP
Perhaps the Rangers missed Avery, their only scratch on Friday. His benching came after he was called for two penalties in the final 10 minutes of New York’s 2-1 victory in game four on Wednesday. He also took four minor penalties and a misconduct in game three.
Knowing they need to win three consecutive games, Washington picked up some momentum on Friday from an unlikely source.
Bradley is a 30-year-old right wing who hadn’t recorded a goal in 21 previous postseason games.
Bradley ranked 17th on the Capitals in points during the regular season — behind Ovechkin and Semin and Mike Green, but also trailing some stay-at-home defensemen — with a total of five goals, only one over the final 42 games.
Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, 29, has died, the NBA team said in a statement on Tuesday, while the family of Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to play in a major US pro sports league, announced the former Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets player had died after a battle with brain cancer. “We are heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brandon Clarke,” the Grizzlies said in a statement posted on social media. “Brandon was an outstanding teammate and an even better person whose impact on the organization and the greater Memphis community will not be forgotten.” The statement did not provide
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