Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist has been through playoff elimination games so often these last four years, he can probably visualize them in his sleep.
Lundqvist and the Rangers have faced nine elimination games at the Garden since the first round of the 2008 playoffs. In all of those games, Lundqvist — practically defying the law of averages — has emerged as the winner.
This time, even Lundqvist needed help. As he skated off the ice with just under two minutes left in the Rangers’ season — as they trailed the Capitals by 1-0 in Game 5 in a series in which they trailed by three games to one — euphoria erupted.