The Rangers host Game 5 on Monday night, with Game 6 at Washington on Wednesday.

Artem Anisimov had a goal and an assist for the Rangers. New York's other goal came from Marian Gaborik, who scored the Game 3 winner after nearly 115 minutes. The teams had two days off to rest and recuperate from that marathon, which began Wednesday night and finished after midnight. The Rangers' 2-1 victory in that game might have given them control of the series.

But anyone counting out the Capitals must have forgotten that they haven't lost two games in a row since March 22-23. Or that they also trailed 2-1 in the first round, before eliminating the reigning NHL champion Bruins in seven games. Then there's this: The Capitals are 3-0 following OT losses this postseason.

They're also growing quite accustomed to playing tight ones: 10 of their 11 playoff games have been decided by one goal, and only once has Washington scored as many as four. It's quite a long way from when they were winning playoff games by scores of 4-0 or 5-3 - and, incidentally, never making it beyond the second round.

Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images The Week in Sports Pictures The nation grieved for those hurt, killed and affected by the Boston Marathon bombings. After one of the suspects was caught on Friday — following a day-long lockdown and manhunt — sports returned to Boston over the weekend.

"We're a grinding team now. Our identity has kind of flipped. We try not to give up much defensively, keep pucks out of the middle and along the boards, and we've been successful with that," forward Brooks Laich said. "Talking to friends and family, they're sitting at home, biting their nails and pulling their hair out. They're just dying for a 4-0 or 5-0 win. But I keep telling them those days are gone a little bit."

Indeed, the Capitals entered Saturday second in the postseason in blocked shots, behind only the Rangers, and the hosts compiled a 26-7 edge in that stat.

"The guys are committed," said Hunter, who replaced the fired Bruce Boudreau in November.

The beneficiary was Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, who only needed to make 18 saves and didn't need to turn away a shot until nearly 5 1/2 minutes into the game. By then, Washington had taken seven shots.

At the end of the first period, the Capitals had a 14-3 edge in shots. The final tally was 26-20 in Washington's favor.

The biggest, of course, came off the stick of Green, who missed 50 games this season because of a right ankle injury, then abdominal surgery.

"Before he was injured a lot," Backstrom noted, "we used to see that all the time."

NOTES: The Capitals are 6-1 this postseason when scoring first. ... Ovechkin's goal was his 29th in the NHL playoffs, moving him one away from Peter Bondra's team record.