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Leonard: Rangers need to get 'back' to basics

Dan Girardi fired a smart stretch pass diagonally up ice to a streaking Carl Hagelin for a breakaway in the third period of Game 4 on Wednesday night in Washington.

But Capitals defenseman Mike Green hooked Hagelin from behind to force a penalty shot. Braden Holtby denied Hagelin's one-on-one juke, and so continued the drought of no even strength points for any Rangers defensemen in this second-round Stanley Cup Playoff series.

That's a difficult statistic to believe, is it not?

Entering a potential elimination match in Friday night’s Game 5 at the Garden, the Rangers defensemen had no even-strength points and just one point total in four outings against the Caps — Dan Boyle's Game 2 power play goal.