Caps Game Day – at Rangers, 7:30 p.m.

Game 5

When: Monday, May 7

Where: Madison Square Garden

Time: 7:30 p.m.

TV: NBC-SN

Radio: WFED-1500 AM

It’s down to a best-of-three series for the Rangers and Capitals with Game 5 set for Monday evening at Madison Square Garden. The winner will have a chance to end the series on Wednesday. The loser will again face elimination. New York has done so twice already this postseason – winning Games 6 and 7 against Ottawa – and the Caps did so in a Game 7 at Boston to end the first round. Washington enters fresh off a 3-2 victory on Saturday when defenseman Mike Green scored the game winner late in regulation on the power play.

“We won. I think that’s what we got to [take],” forward Matt Hendricks said. “We’ve got the momentum right now coming back to their building. I don’t think there’s any trickery involved. I think it’s just gonna be hard hockey, gritty hockey. And whoever gets the bounces is going to win the game.”

No lineup changes expected for the Caps, who start rookie goalie Braden Holtby for the 12^th time this postseason. Based on morning line rushes, they will again keep Nicklas Backstrom on the second line with Brooks Laich up top as he was in Game 4. We’ll see what  changes each team makes as the playoff chess match between the coaching staffs continues. New York, a shot-blocking machine earlier in this series and throughout the season, managed just seven on Saturday

“And that’s what playoffs is all about, being able to adjust and figure it out,” defenseman Mike Green said. “We knew coming into this series that they love to block shots. And they’re very good at it so we need to find a way to get pucks through. So far we’ve done an all right job at it.”  

Forwards:

Ovechkin-Laich-Johansson

Chimera-Backstrom-Semin

Hendricks-Beagle-Brouwer

Knuble-Aucoin-Ward

Defense pairs:

Alzner-Carlson

Hamrlik-Green

Schultz-Wideman

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