Dan Girardi News

Daniel Paille and Dan Girardi were born two weeks apart in this industrial city of 50,000 in southern Ontario, but their social circles did not overlap until they met at the arena on King Street, where they starred in minor hockey for the Welland Tigers.

Maybe it's too easy to blame the mental drain, too simple to point to the Rangers' near-constant state of do-or-die pressure that led to Henrik Lundqvist's costly third period Tuesday.

Rangers coach John Tortorella didn't see any reason to speak to defenseman Dan Girardi after Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Jaromir Jagr hooked Brian Boyle at 4:08, and the Rangers power play, though it didn't score, looked a lot more menacing than the one with a percentage hovering around 6. McQuaid pinched up to the blue line and got caught, but Rask was able to thwart Carl Hagelin's attempt on the 2-on-1 with Derek Dorsett.

NY Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi was on the ice for all five of the Bruins goals in Game 2. The New York Rangers will continue their 2013 NHL playoffs series against the Boston Bruins with Game 3 at Madison Square Garden.

The Bruins know a huge deficit can disappear quickly. They overcame one to reach the second round of the playoffs.

Hezbollah fighters in their military uniform, foreground, carry the coffin of Hezbollah fighter Hassan Faisal Shuker, 18, who was killed in a battle against Syrian rebels in the Syrian town of Qusair, during his funeral procession in his hometown of Nabi Sheet in the eastern Bekaa valley, Lebanon, Monday May 20, 2013.

If you're a Rangers fan, you have probably hit the panic switch repeatedly through Games 1 and 2 at TD Garden.

Hearing on the radio that a violent storm was approaching her rural Oklahoma neighborhood, Lindsay Carter took advantage of the advanced warning, gathered her belongings and fled.

Johnny Boychuk broke a tie midway through the second period, and the Boston Bruins scored two goals in the third to beat the New York Rangers 5-2 on Sunday and take a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Henrik Lundqvist answered all the questions about another overtime loss, then sat at his stall for a long time alone with his thoughts, his skates still on.

The NHL Playoffs are quite easily the most grueling and mentally draining of the North American sports postseasons.

The Rangers spent their last playoff series concentrating their defense on Alex Ovechkin by sending out Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh to shut him down.

Like the Bruins, the Rangers advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals by winning their first-round series in seven games.

In Elmont construction work on Rt-24/Hempstead Turnpike EB before Wellington Rd and to Franklin Ave/New Hyde Park Rd in Nassau In Elmont construction work on Rt-24/Hempstead Turnpike EB before Wellington Rd and to Franklin Ave/New Hyde Park Rd in Nassau In Seaford road construction.

Difference-makers: With Boston's defense corps shredded by injuries, perennial all-star Zdeno Chara might have to log even more minutes than usual, if that's possible.

Nearly everything about the New York Rangers' Game 7 victory over the Washington Capitals was improbable, and yet the 5-0 drubbing they authored wasn't even the most surprising result of the night.

With their season on the line and the summer lurking in the sunshine outside, somehow the Blueshirts staved off elimination yesterday afternoon at the Garden, squeaking out a 1-0 win over the Capitals in Game 6 of their first-round series, forcing a decisive Game 7 tonight in the nation's capital.

The Washington Capitals are on the verge of eliminating the New York Rangers , and they're doing it largely without the help of Alex Ovechkin .

Going into last night, the 16 teams taking part in the NHL playoffs blocked a total of 1,191 shots in 37 games, an average of 32 per game.