from Brett Cyrgalis of the New York Post,

There’s no less desperation. There can’t be when the Rangers have their backs against the wall yet again, and will continue to be staring the offseason in the face unless they can wrangle out two more consecutive wins.

Game 6 of this second-round series against the Capitals is Sunday night at Verizon Center, and the Blueshirts still are down in the best-of-seven, 3-2. But there is less frustration boiling inside their locker room following Friday’s miraculous 2-1 overtime win in Game 5 at the Garden, when they trailed 1-0 until Chris Kreider scored with 1:41 remaining in the third period and Ryan McDonagh won it 9:37 into the extra period.

“I think the way we won, certainly isn’t ideal,” alternate captain Derek Stepan said on Saturday afternoon at the team’s D.C. hotel, having the day off practice. “We just have to continue to find ways to score goals and continue to find ways to create offense.”

That has been the theme of this series: The Capitals have thwarted the Rangers’ potent offense, third-best in the league during the regular season, limiting them to seven goals through the first five games. Part of that has been the outstanding play of Washington goalie Braden Holtby, as well as the Capitals’ defensemen crowding shooting lanes and blocking shots by the bushel.

The Rangers struggled to cope with all of their terrific scoring opportunities going for naught. It’s not as if they had played bad hockey in going down 3-1, but they were not being rewarded, creating a built-up frustration.

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