The Rangers will get another opportunity to wrap up the series Sunday afternoon at more friendly Madison Square Garden. It’s advisable that they get it done or face the consequences. Forget the history books that say Washington has never rallied back from an 0-2 deficit or that the Rangers have never blown a series when leading 3-1. That means nothing.

Anyone who’s followed this series knows how much more talented the higher seeded Caps are. The Rangers are still in a winning position because they showed a willingness to get the jersey dirty and Henrik Lundqvist was there for the big saves. Tonight, neither was the case as they got outworked by a determined Washington squad Hell bent on coming back. If Lundqvist was the series’ best player the first four games, tonight it wasn’t to be as he let in four goals on only 14 shots before Steve Valiquette relieved him in garbage time.

On a night John Tortorella gave Sean Avery a game off to think about his selfish penalties, the Rangers on the ice weren’t disciplined enough to give themselves a chance taking two of the game’s first three penalties before the contest was 10 minutes old. That included a retaliatory slash by MIA center Scott Gomez following a clean Alex Ovechkin hit just 76 seconds in setting the tone.

Sure. The Ranger penalty killing unit again blanked the Cap power play keeping them off the scoreboard in seven chances including a ridiculous too many men on the ice bench minor. Ridiculous because at this critical juncture, it shouldn’t be happening.

In between that, fourth liner Matt Bradley victimized the Ranger powerless play scoring the game’s first goal shorthanded 4:58 into the game. Michal Rozsival couldn’t control Boyd Gordon’s hard wheel around falling down to create the problem. Bradley then outhustled Chris Drury, who covered for Wade Redden. Unfortunately, the banged up captain did a poor job allowing Bradley to beat him to the puck and then go in for a breakaway beating Lundqvist with a quick backhand upstairs.

During the regular season, the Rangers were the second worst team at allowing shorthanded goals giving up a preposterous 14 all under Tom Renney before Tortorella took over. It reared its ugly head again at the worst possible time giving the Caps much needed momentum because they weren’t all that impressive in the first getting just six shots on net. Unfortunately, two went in when following an Aaron Voros chance, Bradley somehow beat Lundqvist thru the wickets from a bad angle. Much like Ryan Callahan’s post and Alex Semin’s goal in Game Three, it was a crusher.

If the Blueshirts only got three shots on Simeon Varlamov, who posted his second shutout of the series stopping all 20 he faced, they at least had a couple of opportunities to get on the board. One was the aforementioned Voros, whose shot from 18 feet out Varlamov got a piece of before Bradley came down and scored his second. The other chance came when Brandon Dubinsky got a drop pass from effective linemate Lauri Korpikoski and had the 20 year-old Russian down without a stick. But as he went to tuck the puck in, Varlamov somehow got a shoulder on it keeping it out.

Sadly, that was the extent of the Ranger offense which was plain offensive. Bruce Boudreau must’ve told his club that they were fortunate to be up two because they played much better the rest of the game. Standing up at the blueline forcing the Rangers into bad turnovers, the Caps used their superior speed and skill to attack when they could. Though the shots were held down, the No.2 seed was much better and got rewarded scoring twice more.

Game Three hero Alex Semin scored his series-leading fourth off a faceoff when the puck went off Blair Betts knee right to him. He quickly wired it top shelf past a stunned Lundqvist, who had little chance. They somehow credited Nicklas Backstrom with an assist. He did take the draw following a Ranger icing but didn’t win it and never touched the puck. Go figure. That’s the kinda night it was.

Down three, the Rangers spent the rest of the second chasing the puck. They somehow managed seven shots- one less than the Caps- but none were dangerous. Varlamov may as well have been out for a walk on the beach. Speaking of which, it will be beach weather this weekend.

Unable to threaten the Capitals, the Rangers eventually caved in allowing Ovechkin to score the goal of the playoffs late in the period. Following the invisible man Nikolai Zherdev’s latest turnover after a takedown, here came Ovechkin lifting Wade Redden’s stick before undressing Derek Morris and Voros going to the backhand for an amazing goal. That made it 4-0 with 29 seconds left. This was just a special goal by a special player. It was fitting that it was Ovie because he’s tried so hard this series and had only beaten Lundqvist once despite all the shots.

That ended Lundqvist’s night as Tortorella opted to rest him in preparation for Sunday. A wise move. No sense in letting him get peppered. Keeping him fresh is important and he didn’t see a ton of shots as opposed to how most of this series has gone.

Valiquette was sharp in relief turning aside all seven Washington shots. Between that, the Rangers sat out Drury in the third and took a few message sending penalties including a Dubinsky charge and a Colton Orr double minor for holding and roughing up Semin. Refs Mike Hasenfratz and Don VanMassenhoven did the appropriate thing with 5:46 left giving misconducts to Orr and Voros ending their nights.

Earlier in the stanza, they also kept Donald Brashear under control when he decided he wanted to pick on the smaller Dubinsky, who of course wouldn’t back down. The two each went to the box for roughing but the Capital enforcer got the extra 10.

Credit the refs for doing a good job. They kept things from escalating. That also included a disturbing drunken Cap fan who decided to toss a beer at Tortorella during a late stoppage. Just pathetic. Tort was upset and looked for the fan, who got ejected. Good thing Washington security responded quickly. Something like that should never happen. I don’t know why it did. I’m just glad things were handled well.

Now onto Game Six, which becomes a must win if the Rangers want to advance. We’ll see what they’re made of.

Notes: Scott Gomez had another miserable game held off the scoresheet a fourth straight game with four perimeter shots and went minus-one while dropping 10 of 15 faceoffs in 19:46. … Zherdev was again brutal on the ice for two goals against with just two SOG in 15:23. … Drury took only 13 shifts (7:21) finishing a dismal minus-three while going 4-4 on draws. … Showing plenty of desperation, the Caps blocked 21 shots including four from D Brian Pothier. The Rangers had 11 with Dan Girardi leading the way with three. He and partner Marc Staal played very well each going Even combining for eight hits in 23+ minutes apiece.

… Hits were 35-30 Blueshirts in one of the few categories they came out on top of with Girardi’s five pacing them. Ovechkin and David Steckel each had five. … Washington was stronger in the faceoff circle winning 28-of-49 with Steckel 8-3 and Backstrom 8-5. Dubinsky was the Rangers’ best finishing 7-of-11. … In place of the scratched Avery, Voros played 16 shifts (10:56) including a couple on the powerless play. He had one shot, two hits and was minus-two with 12 PIM. … Game Six is at The Garden with faceoff set for 2:05 Sunday afternoon on NBC.

Although the Fab Irish Four didn’t have Henrik Lundqvist in mind when they wrote the song, after watching his play, they may have to change the words.

Because in this series, The King has been magnificent.

“He’s amazing,” said Ranger captain Chris Drury. “There’s not much you can’t say what he does for this team. For us, it’s a great example of what hard work and dedication does. He certainly brings that every day.”

After a less than stellar performance in Game 3 – yet still very good – Lundqvist bounced back to his opening series form, stopping 38 shots in the very intense 2-1 win over the Capitals in Game 4 of the opening round to give the Rangers a commanding 3-1 lead.

It couldn’t come at a better time, with the Capitals hungry to tie the series after their 4-0 win on Monday, Lundqvist stood tall as the immovable object took on the irresistible force in Alexander Ovechkin. With no lights of the lamp in the series, the NHL’s leading goal scorer seemed to be due and Ranger netminder contained the 24 year-old superstar.

Ovechkin did get his point with a tally in the third to cut the lead in half, but it was the Blueshirts who had the last laugh. Stopping Washington rush after Washington rush, the Ranger defense was able to contain the high octane Capital attack, while No. 30 became the last line of defense.

“That is why we have a very good goalie and he is going to have to be good,” said Rangers coach John Tortorella. “They are going to get chances.  That is just the way it is.  We knew that going in.  We talked about that before we started the playoffs.  We just need to contain them the best way we can.  At times we are good at it, at times we struggle.”

The Blueshirts were able to stay back and contain Washington thanks to two Ranger goals off Simeon Varlamov, who had 19 saves. The first coming with about six minutes left of a very well played first period when Paul Mara was able to put one through traffic from the point.

And then Drury – playing with an undisclosed injury believed to be an injured wrist – was able to get a misplayed rebound by Varlamov and put it in an open net early in the second.

“Dru has been awesome for us,” Mara said. “He’s battling through things that a lot of players probably wouldn’t be on the ice with. He’s our leader. He has scored clutch goals for many years now and that was huge for us tonight.”

Also playing a big role was the Garden faithful. After the Capitals took the fans out of Game 3, The Mecca rocked again tonight, especially during a very intense third period, where the Rangers had to kill off two very bad penalties by Sean Avery during the last 11 minutes.

“Just coming to the Garden on a night like this,” Drury said, “and being a Ranger and having the fans respond like they have been in these playoffs, there’s no feeling like it.”

Like there’s no better feeling to Lundqvist’s game, which the Rangers hope continues to be magnificent.

Notes: Game 5 will take place on Friday, April 24^th at the Verizon Center…Tortorella used Brandon Dubinsky to shadow Nicklas Backstrom in the third period, effectively shutting down the other high flying Capital…Although only minors were called, Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau felt the NHL will look at the Avery’s infractions and possibly hand out a suspension…Dubinsky, Lauri Korpikoski, and Derek Morris had the assists on the night…The Rangers are 11-0 in series after they go up 3-1.

All it took was a missed open net by Ryan Callahan, 11: 24 into the first followed by Alexander Semin’s second goal of a game 12 seconds later. Instead of a 1-1 tie, the Rangers faced a 2-0 deficit in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

Game. Set. Match. Capitals took the game, 4-0.

“It’s tough,” said center Brandon Dubinsky. “It’s the difference between a tie game and a two goal deficit. Those things happen in this game; you see it all the time – a big save and then a goal on the other end.”

The play deflated the Rangers, along with the Garden faithful, whose very loud support was silenced by Alexander Ovechkin and Company. The Rangers didn’t stand a chance.

“I thought we stunk defensively,” said coach John Tortorella. “That was the key to the game. They defended well in front of their net. We were chasing our tails all night long.”

The story of this game is not the 4-0 loss. Nor is it the superb play of rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov, who stopped all 33 of the Ranger shots and outplayed his counterpart Henrik Lundqvist, who may have been the only person in recent times to go to Washington not looking for a bailout.

No, the story here is what happens next. Do the Rangers brush this off as an aberration, like they did in the first round last season and eventually beat the Capitals or does Washington use those 12 seconds as a launching pad, vaulting themselves past the Blueshirts to a possible Stanley Cup birth?

Last week, the story was all about the Rangers. They were the team that kept its cool, while the Capitals were the ones starting to panic. Coach Bruce Boudreau – looking more and more like Don Zimmer every day – changed goalies, went with different looks, and even lost the gamesmanship war with Tortorella, coming across as a crybaby when his Ranger counterpart was just trying to point out the flaws in his team.

But now, after this win, the game is afoot. If the Caps take Game 4 on Wednesday, they only have to win their two home games to take the series. The Rangers will be forced to win another on down in the Nation’s Capital if they have any hope of advancing.

It may be a real tough task, even for a king.

“They are a good team,” said Lundqvist, who stopped 36 of 40 shots. “We knew it was going to be tough and they played well. They have to learn from a couple of mistakes we made tonight and be ready for the next one.”

First the Rangers need to tighten up the defense. Too many times Ovechkin took control of the puck and vaulted himself down the ice. Lundqvist was left naked, for the high scoring Washington team.

Also the penalties need to stop. With the Rangers shorthanded six times tonight, the Capitals managed two power play goals – that’s two more than in Games 1 and 2. Even with a very good penalty kill, the Rangers can’t let Washington get more scoring chances than they normally take.

And finally the Rangers need to play every second of the sixty minutes. It looked like they were sleep walking through the first period before they woke up after eight minutes. By mailing in parts of periods, the Blueshirts will have no chance against the Caps.

But don’t worry Ranger fans, your team is still up 2-1. Just remember this, though. Back in 1996, the Rangers lost the first two games at home against the Canadiens and then took four in a row, including three in Montreal. So don’t feel comfortable with any lead.

It could easily be gone in a matter of seconds.

Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 35 shots allowing Ryan Callahan’s first period tally to hold up in a stunning 1-0 Game Two win over Washington at Verizon Center earlier today- letting the Rangers grab a commanding 2-0 series lead with Games 3 and 4 shifting to Madison Square Garden.

If the way they stole Game One was surprising, then the incredible poise they showed in silencing one of the game’s brightest stars and most potent offenses was equally as shocking. For after letting Alex Ovechkin fire shot after shot Wednesday, the Rangers were much better prepared for the league’s leading finisher, limiting him to six shots which were all challenged. They frustrated the Russian superstar who with the exception of a crossbar off the one great chance he had was kept in check.

That along with the Rangers remaining more disciplined taking only three penalties which they killed off allowed them to win a game most including myself didn’t expect them to. The forwards competed. The defense bent but never broke. And the goalie was unflappable. If the latter isn’t in Washington’s heads, then he’s awfully close after standing tall in denying all 16 shots sent his way in a frantic third.

Entering this series, Lundqvist needed to be the best player for the Rangers to have a realistic chance of pulling the upset. So far, he’s delivered by turning aside 67 of 70 shots. That included a huge stop on Nicklas Backstrom from the slot when the uncanny Swede used his mask to thwart one of the best Cap chances late. It’s that kind of caliber goaltending that’s allowed the Rangers to believe they can win this series.

Now, they’re in the driver’s seat coming home for what should be an amped up New York crowd. How they handle prosperity for the first time since earlier this season will go a long way to determining the outcome.

They got the lone goal in probably their worst period of the day when Callahan converted a two-on-one Markus Naslund feed going upstairs on rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov, who made the start in place of an ineffective Jose Theodore. It was the only goal he gave up finishing with a respectable 23 saves in his playoff debut.

Brandon Dubinsky started the play inside his own blueline catching Ovechkin and Mike Green deep springing Naslund and Callahan for the odd-man rush. The key defensive play along the boards by the Game One hero led to Naslund going wide before setting Callahan up perfectly for his first at 7:44. The Caps would get 13 shots in another strong first limiting the Blueshirts to only six but they had the one that mattered which allowed them to play their game.

If they weren’t good in the first 20 minutes, that changed as the Rangers began to take control in the second forcing Cap turnovers and establishing a forecheck. Something which was missing in the first game despite the outcome. It eventually led to four straight Capital penalties with Viktor Kozlov guilty of two. But the Ranger power play which was a huge surprise in Game One returned to form that saw them rank second to last during the season. The lack of a power play goal meant that they had no working margin.

It was the Ranger D which did the job keeping the Caps to the outside. In fact, they only tested Lundqvist six times in the middle stanza with nothing significant. Even a couple of late power plays didn’t generate much with the No.1 ranked PK keeping the Capitals guessing. Blair Betts, Freddy Sjostrom, Dubinsky and Callahan were splendid. So too were much maligned Wade Redden along with Michal Rozsival, who each had a second strong game. Marc Staal and Dan Girardi were also better. Paul Mara and Derek Morris played well.

Led by the blueline, the Rangers again sacrificed their bodies getting in the path of 29 Cap shots including four from a strong Girardi, Morris and Betts. Three also came from a less than 100 percent captain Chris Drury, who returned with whatever was bothering him. He only took two draws but played a gutty 22 shifts (15:25) showing the kind of leadership necessary to advance at this crucial time of year.

Predictably, the Capitals were better in the third period testing Lundqvist often. But the Rangers did a solid job allowing him to see the puck. Whatever he saw, he stopped. That included his biggest of the game on Backstrom with under four minutes left when he got a step on Redden getting a good shot off in the slot. But Lundqvist as he often does got a mask on it.

The Caps’ best opportunity came when Backstrom got a stick on Staal as he was making an outlet pass from behind his own net. The turnover almost proved costly as it came right to Alexander Semin who quickly centered for an open Ovechkin, whose shot nicked Lundqvist’s best friend, the crossbar leaving the 2007-08 Hart winner to shake his head in disbelief.

Desperate, Washington pulled Varlamov for an extra attacker with a minute to go. But it was a determined group of Rangers who wouldn’t allow them to get the kind of quality chance it would take to beat Lundqvist. Rozsival made a key defensive play breaking up a rush and Nik Antropov, who was stellar defensively cleared the zone as time wound down- allowing the Rangers to congratulate Lundqvist, who recorded his third career postseason shutout.

Three Stars:

3rd Star-Markus Naslund, NYR (assist, 2 hits, 2 takeaways, +1 in 15:32)

2nd Star-Ryan Callahan, NYR (GW goal 7:44 of 1st, 3 SOG, 2 hits, 2 blocked shots, 2 takeaways, +1 in 20:41)

1st Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (35 saves incl. 16 in 3rd, 3rd career playoff SHO)

Notes: After getting 13 of his 28 shots on goal in Game One, Ovechkin was held to just six SOG in 22:50 finishing minus-one. In an oddity, he and Green combined for 12 giveaways- half of the Caps’ glaring 24. By comparison, the Rangers had only seven all game. … Rangers showed improvement in the faceoff circle going 28-for-60 with Gomez (11-9) their best. Betts went 9-11 and Dubinsky was 6-7. For Washington, Backstrom went a dominant 13-6 and David Steckel was 4-1. … The Blueshirts held a slight edge in hits 23-20 with Dubinsky and Sean Avery (4) leading the charge while Ovechkin’s five paced everyone. … The Rangers’ 29 blocks were 16 better than the Caps, who countered with four players posting two. … Aaron Voros was a healthy scratch and Donald Brashear again satout for the Caps. Bruce Boudreau made one other change dressing D Brian Pothier for Jeff Schultz (upper body).

… Game Three is Monday at 7 ET at The Garden and can be seen on MSG locally. Versus and TSN are also covering it. … There are three other games later including Game Two between the top seeded Bruins and No.8 Canadiens going off at 8 on Versus. The B’s lead the series 1-0. Out West, defending champ Detroit looks to make it two for two against Columbus less than an hour from now on NHL Network/TSN. The Blackhawks will aim for two straight at 9 ET against the Flames.