Sunday’s seven-round shootout came on the 12th anniversary of the Rangers’ longest shootout in history, when defenseman Marek Malik — an unlikely hero — scored the winner against Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig in the 15th round for a 3-2 win.
Malik, a Czech defenseman in his first season with the Blueshirts who hadn’t scored a goal to that point of the season, backhanded the puck through his skates and scored over Kolzig’s shoulder as the Garden crowd went wild.
Henrik Lundqvist, then a rookie, said: “I started to think it would never end.” On Sunday, he remembered: “That one went much, much longer.