It takes a herculean effort to beat Henrik Lundqvist. Or Alexander Semin.
Semin's blast brought the Washington Capitals back into a 1-1 tie with the New York Rangers, but Ryan McDonagh restored the Rangers' one-goal lead as they hold a 2-1 advantage after 40 minutes.
Semin's 15th goal of the season finished off an end-to-end breakout. John Carlson started it with a breakout pass to Jason Chimera, who used his outside speed to carry the puck into the offensive zone. Chimera then sent a drop pass to a waiting Semin, who then fired a slap shot that eluded Lundqvist at 6:31. Semin has 23 points in his last 24 games.
Just under seven minutes later, McDonagh put New York back into the lead with his fifth goal of the season and first since December 1. McDonagh's toe drag caught a sliding Troy Brouwer out of position, giving McDonagh enough room to fire a wrist shot that squeaked past Michal Neuvirth. McDonagh, however, did not have time to celebrate as he injured his leg on the play and had to be helped off the ice.
New York is outshooting Washington 19-15.