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WASHINGTON -- Its been more than a decade since a goalie was as perfect over Games 6 and 7 of a playoff series as Henrik Lundqvist was for the New York Rangers against Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. Yes, Lundqvist certainly had help, including goals from some unlikely teammates. Still, there is one key reason the Rangers are heading to the Eastern Conference semifinals. "Henrik Lundqvist," Capitals forward Troy Brouwer said. "Plain and simple." Led by Lundqvists 35 saves in a second consecutive shutout, the Rangers beat the Capitals 5-0 in an anticlimactic finale of an otherwise tense and tight seven-game series Monday night, eliminating Washington for the second year in a row. "Goaltending is the big thing," said Arron Asham, a fourth-line winger whose goal Monday gave him a pair for the series, twice as many as two-time NHL MVP Ovechkin. "Hanks been our backbone all year." The last NHL goalie to pull off the double shutouts in Games 6-7 was Detroits Dominik Hasek in 2002 against Colorado, according to STATS LLC. "Theres moments where you enjoy it and you think Wow, this is great. And you have fun. But theres also moments where you dont feel great. You feel the pressure and you just want to get it done, so badly," Lundqvist said. "You try to control your emotions. Thats the key for me. Im an emotional guy when I play. I try to just stay calm. Good or bad. I just try to stay calm and focus on my thing." Did that rather well on Sunday and Monday, lifting his career post-season shutout total to eight. "He was really good, but the team was also good, too. I have to give the team some credit. They played hard in front of him," Rangers coach John Tortorella said. Lundqvist, Ovechkin said, did an "unbelievable job; he makes incredible saves." By winning a Game 7 on the road for the first time in its history, New York completed its comeback after trailing in the series 2-0 and 3-2 -- the latest in Washingtons long history of playoff collapses. Now the sixth-seeded Rangers face the No. 4 Bruins, with Game 1 on Thursday at Boston. The Original Six rivals have not met in the playoffs since 1973. New York won that series in five games. "Well enjoy this one tonight," Rangers forward Rick Nash said, "and then get back to work." Nash was held without a goal by Washington, but New York found other scorers. Asham put New York ahead Monday in the first period, before Taylor Pyatt and Michael Del Zotto made it 3-0 early in the second on goals 2:10 apart. Ryan Callahan added a goal 13 seconds into the third period, and when Mats Zuccarello scored with about 13 1/2 minutes remaining, thousands of red-clad fans streamed to the exits. Soon after, when Lundqvist fell forward to smother a puck, chants of "Hen-reeek! Hen-reeek!" from the no-longer-outnumbered Rangers supporters rose in the arena. While Callahan did have 16 goals this season, the other four Rangers who put pucks past Braden Holtby on Monday combined for a total of only 14. "You need your third and fourth lines to get some goals to win games," Asham said, "and it was proven tonight." Also made clear: Lundqvist gives the Rangers a chance to win every game. From the moment Mike Ribeiros overtime goal gave Washington a Game 5 victory, Lundqvist was simply superb. The Swede stopped all 62 shots he faced in Games 6 and 7, showing exactly why he won the Vezina Trophy as the leagues top goalie last season and is a finalist this season. "In a game like this, obviously youre looking for a great start. I thought we set the tone in the first. You just need a couple of good bounces and we got them tonight. A couple of big goals for us," Lundqvist said. "When we scored the fourth one, I thought, OK, we got this. As long as its three, you never know with (the Capitals). They have so much skill, they can turn it around quickly." But Washingtons offence managed to score 12 goals the entire series -- and zero over the final six periods. Indeed, Ovechkin was held without a point in Games 3-7. The Russian wing led the NHL with 32 goals but he heads into the off-season after the longest playoff point drought of his career. He had a goal in Game 1, an assist in Game 2, and that was it. "Its very frustrating," said Ovechkin, never past the second round of the playoffs. "Thats the whole point: Youre here to win the games and try to win the cup." The Rangers-Capitals finale began only a little more than 24 hours after the shoving- and wrestling-filled end of Game 6, which New York won 1-0 on Derick Brassards second-period goal. That, of course, was played at Madison Square Garden, continuing the pattern of the home team winning each of the first six games of the series. That ended emphatically Monday, in a Game 7 so similar to Washingtons 6-2 loss to Pittsburgh in 2009, even Ovechkin brought up that defeat afterward. Another pattern done away with: Games 2-6 between New York and Washington were all decided by one goal. "Quite honestly, tough to explain," Capitals coach Adam Oates said. "Its funny how over the years sometimes the seventh game turns into some form of blowout." Since the start of the 2008 playoffs -- when Washingtons core of Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green made their post-season debuts -- the Capitals have appeared in nine series, and this was the seventh to last the full seven games. Theyre now 2-5 in those, and Ovechkin and Co. have never been beyond the second round. Going further back, to 1985, the Capitals have lost nine series in which the club led either 2-0 or 3-1. "Nobody is yelling at each other here. Nobody was pointing a figure that it was somebodys fault we (lost) the game. Its everybodys fault," Ovechkin said. "All the guys fault. My fault. (Backstroms). Its everybody. Its not about one person or two people. Its about the team." Truthfully, not much anyone on his team could do Sunday or Monday with the way Lundqvist performed. "We threw the kitchen sink at him at times, and he stood there and defended," Green said. "Hes a great goaltender. We knew that." Notes: The Rangers were 0-5 in Game 7s on the road entering Monday. ... Ovechkins longest span without a point this regular season was three games, something he went through twice: Feb. 14-21 and March 9-12. The Rangers were the opponent in the middle game of both of those droughts. ... The Rangers lost in the Eastern Conference finals last year to the New Jersey Devils, for whom Oates was an assistant coach. Wholesale Custom Pirates Shirts .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. Custom Willie Stargell Jersey . The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night. http://www.custompiratesjersey.com/ . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. Custom Pirates T-shirts . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. Cheap Pirates Jerseys . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. One team is hoping to prevent a second-half slide like the one that derailed its season a year ago.The other is just trying to keep its head above water, knowing that one more loss could effectively end any chance it has left of making the playoffs for a third straight year.That and more are on the line Sunday at the Georgia Dome when the Arizona Cardinals (4-5-1) visit the Atlanta Falcons (6-4) in a pivotal NFC battle.This marks the seventh time in the past 11 years that the teams met, with each splitting the previous six meetings.Its a chance for the Falcons to extend their slim lead in the NFC South over the Buccaneers, Saints and Panthers. Its a chance for the Cardinals to possibly salvage their season -- at least for another week.Asked if his team had a sense of urgency, Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians, who had to spend a night in the hospital because of chest pains following his teams latest loss -- a 26-20 defeat at Minnesota -- just scowled.Oh yeah, he said. If you dont have one right now you dont belong in the business, and you damn sure dont belong in this locker room.The Cardinals have been searching for answers all season after a 13-3 regular season a year ago in which the offense set multiple franchise records and quarterback Carson Palmer was in the conversation for MVP candidacy upon setting several career firsts.Palmer and the offense, however, went missing in 2016 and other than second-year running back David Johnson, who ranks third in the league in rushing with 863 yards, there hasnt been any of the same consistency Arians and the Cardinals are used to enjoying.Palmer said theres only one thing on the teams mind as it gets ready for the Falcons.To win one game, he said. Cant worry about seeding or standings or division records; nothing matters other than this game. As leaders, as the older guys in the locker room, you just keep everybodys focus on one day at a time, finishing today. Weve got the practice part done. We have a lot of meetings and a lot of tape to watch. You finish day after day after day, and thats the mindset that we have.As for the Falcons, they still have last season on their mind. Atlanta began 6-1, but scuffled their way to a 2-7 finish over their last nine games to finish 8-8 and miss the playoffs for the third straight season.Another second-half collapse wouldnt only be punishing, it could lead to more changes once again for a franchise that hasnt been able to finish what it started. Head coach Dan Quinn acknowledged that still resonates across the organization, but that last seasons second-half fail could propel the Falcons moving forward.Well, we certainly hope so, Quinn said. The scars that you get when you finish poorly, they definitely leave a mark. Were a way different team than our 2015 team -- our mental toughness, our resilience; were just tighter, were better, were more complete in that way.Thats, I think, the biggest difference. Although we didnt finish all of them like wed like to this year, I would say were quite a bit different ooutfit than we were at the end of 2015.ddddddddddddtlanta boasts one of the leagues best offenses. Its ranked first in points per game (32.0), yards per play (6.7), passing yards per play (8.9) and touchdowns scored (36). Overall, the offense is ranked third, averaging 416.6 yards per game.Quarterback Matt Ryan is enjoying one of his finest season to date, ranking second in passing yards (3,247), third in passing touchdowns (24) and fourth in completion percentage (68.2). His favorite target, wide receiver Julio Jones, leads the league in receiving yards (1,105) and has been difficult for everyone to slow down.Jones had 10 receptions for 189 yards and a touchdown in his last game against the Cardinals two years ago, torching Arizonas All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson. That was the season in which Peterson, however, was dealing with diabetes and it had to be diagnosed, which led to his worst season in the pros.Peterson is a completely different player now, however, and Jones can see that on film.He dropped that weight, looks like hes in better shape, Jones said. Hes always a good athlete, a guy who can make plays. He can pretty much do a lot of great things.Peterson will shadow Jones throughout the game, something other teams have tried and failed to do against Jones this season.Teams have been trying to do that, but theyve been playing a lot of two-man while they were doing it, Jones said. Theyll take their OK corner and put him over me and then just have safety help, and try to put the better corner on the other side, try to let him lock that side down. Pat P, its just usually one-on-one. Its always been great matchups between us.The Cardinals get Tyrann Mathieu, their playmaking safety, back this week after the Honey Badger missed the last two games because of a shoulder subluxation. His addition could make the leagues top-ranked defense, which is allowing a league-low 287.4 total yards per game as well as the fewest passing yards per game (190.2), that much more dangerous.As good as Arizonas defense has been, Mathieu said it hasnt been good enough.I think we could play better, he said. Every game, theres like three or four plays where were just giving up touchdowns or giving up big plays. Weve got to continue to create turnovers, weve got to create more turnovers, weve got to find a way to score and shorten the field for our offense.Mathieu said the Cardinals will have their hands full with Ryan, Jones and Atlantas running back tandem of Davonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, who is finally healthy.Theyre a dominating offense, obviously, he said. Matt Ryan is playing tremendous right now, Julio, it goes without saying, and theyve got two running backs that are definitely going to try and hurt us in the run and the pass game, so our front has to play well, our linebackers have to play well and then on the back end, weve got to do a good of containing Julio. ' ' '