WASHINGTON — Thanks to sage, old Sergei Fedorov and a kid goalie with more career starts in the NHL postseason than the regular season, the Capitals are headed to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since the 1997-98 season.
Fedorov beat Henrik Lundqvist with 4:59 left in the third period, rookie Simeon Varlamov was good in the net when he had to be, and the second-seeded Capitals edged the No. 7 Rangers 2-1 in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal Tuesday night.
New York’s Nik Antropov and Washington’s Alexander Semin traded first-period goals, and the Rangers were controlling a lot of the action thereafter.
But it was the 39-year-old Fedorov, playing in his eighth career Game 7, who determined the outcome. He took a pass from Matt Bradley and, with Rangers defenseman Wade Redden screening Lundqvist, sent a shot inside the far post for the winner.
“There was not much going on,” Fedorov said, “so I decided to shoot the puck.”
Washington is the 21st team in NHL history to win a series after trailing 3-1.
“Let’s face it: Realistically, we should have won the first six games,” Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said.
