Rangers rout Capitals to reach NHL second round

Swedish star Henrik Lundqvist posted his second-straight shutout as the New York Rangers advanced to the second round by routing Washington 5-0 in game seven of their NHL playoff series. Lundqvist made 35 saves for the shutout after stopping all 27 shots he faced in game six on Sunday. The Rangers will face Boston in the second round of the NHL playoffs as the Bruins rallied from a 4-1 deficit in the third period Monday night to win in overtime and beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games. Arron Asham, Michael Del Zotto, Taylor Pyatt, Ryan Callahan and Mats Zuccarello all scored as the sixth-seeded Rangers finally saw their offense come alive in Washington. New York had scored just two goals in three previous games at the Verizon Center arena in the best-of-seven series. It marked the second consecutive year that the Rangers and Capitals had played a game seven, with the Rangers taking a 2-1 win at home in last year\'s deciding game. Braden Holtby made 22 saves for the third-seeded Capitals, who were in the playoffs for a sixth-straight season. Washington have now been eliminated in the first round in three of their last sixth playoff appearances. Capitals Alex Ovechkin was held scoreless again and finished with just one goal in the seven-game series. The Russian star could now be headed to Sweden to play for his country in the World Hockey Championships. From: AFP