Chris Neil scored 1:17 into overtime, and the Ottawa Senators rallied for a wild 3-2 victory over the New York Rangers in Game 2 to even the first-round Eastern Conference series Saturday. Neil got to a loose puck in front off a rebound and backhanded the puck past goalie Henrik Lundqvist. The top-seeded Rangers seemed poised to grab a 2-0 series lead when Brian Boyle scored in the third period, but Nick Foligno tied it with 4:37 left in regulation. Erik Karlsson also scored for the Senators, who exacted some revenge on Boyle for some shots he took at Karlsson during Game 1. A brawl led to the ejections of Ottawa defenseman Matt Carkner and New York forward Brandon Dubinsky just 2:15 in. Anton Stralman had the other goal for the Rangers. Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is Monday in Ottawa, followed by Game 4 Wednesday. The series will return to New York for Game 5 next Saturday. Capitals 2, Bruins 1, 2 OT: Nicklas Backstrom scored 2:56 into the second overtime to lift Washington past Boston and tie the first-round Eastern Conference playoff series at a game apiece. Braden Holtby stopped 43 shots for Washington in his second career postseason game. Tim Thomas made 37 saves for the defending Stanley Cup champions. Troy Brouwer opened the scoring for the Capitals in the second period, and Benoit Pouliot tied it with 7:47 left in regulation. On the winner, Washington won a faceoff in the Boston zone and Marcus Johansson got the puck from behind the net. He passed it to Backstrom at the left faceoff circle and he wristed it past Thomas on his stick side. Boston won the opener 1-0 in overtime Thursday. Blackhawks 4, Coyotes 3, OT: Bryan Bickell had his second goal 10:36 into overtime and Chicago beat Phoenix after scoring in the closing seconds of regulation for the second straight game. Phoenix won the opener 3-2 in overtime after giving up a goal to Brent Seabrook with 14 seconds left in regulation. Patick Sharp did it to the Coyotes with even less time in Game 2, redirecting a shot by Patrick Kane with 5.5 seconds left. The Blackhawks pulled it out this time, with Bickell beating Mike Smith from between the circles after Viktor Stalberg kept a pass by Rostislav Klesla in Phoenix's zone. Brian Bollig also scored for Chicago. Antoine Vermette had two goals and nearly had a third in overtime, and Raffi Torres also scored for the Coyotes. Smith made some big saves after nearly being knocked unconscious by Chicago's Andrew Shaw in the second period, but couldn't come up with the two that mattered the most, preventing Phoenix from going up 2-0 for the eighth straight playoff series since moving to the desert in 1996. Blues 3, Sharks 0: Brian Elliott and Jaroslav Halak combined for a shutout, San Jose put itself in an early hole when Marc-Edouard Vlasic tapped the puck into his own net, and St. Louis evened the Western Conference series at a game apiece. Vladimir Sobotka was credited with a goal on the first shot of the game after Vlasic's gaffe. David Backes and Andy McDonald also scored, and T.J. Oshie had two assists in the Blues' first playoff victory since 2004. Halak's left leg was bent underneath his body early in second period after Blues defenseman Barret Jackman slid into him. Halak finished with 12 saves, and Elliott stopped 17 shots the rest of the way. Halak and Elliott combined for 15 shutouts in the regular season, tying a modern NHL record, and won the Jennings Trophy for the fewest goals allowed. Elliott was quite the luxury as a backup after setting a modern NHL record with a 1.56 goals-against average and nine of the shutouts.
