National Post Sports

Life in the dying seconds
These two teams seem destined to be separated by some small thing, some fragment — a puck that bounces just right, a stick that catches just enough of a puck, a shot that is not quite blocked enough. It’s so close. Anything could matter.

And in Game 5 of their second-round series, the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals extended their slow dance with a heart-pounding late goal by the Rangers to force overtime. And with only 1:35 gone in overtime and the Rangers on the power play, a Marc Staal drive from the point bounced its way through a crowd and past Braden Holtby for a 3-2 victory at Madison Square Garden that gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead in the series. Game 5 takes place Wednesday at the Verizon Center in Washington, and the Capitals will face elimination. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)