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Alex Ovechkin insists he and the Washington Capitals aren't frustrated even though Henrik Lundqvist and the New York Rangers have the Southeast Division champions on the brink of elimination. "Do you think the season is over?" Ovechkin snapped at a television reporter who asked about the second-seeded Capitals' daunting 3-1 series deficit following a 2-1 loss to the Rangers on Wednesday night. "We didn't score on our chances. We play with energy and we play with passion, but it's not good enough for a victory." The Capitals were in a similar hole one year ago against the Philadelphia Flyers before rallying to get the series even. Washington couldn't seal the deal on home ice in Game 7, losing an overtime heartbreaker. But that team was young and unfamiliar with the playoffs after a late-season surge barely got them in. This season was supposed to be different. The Capitals ran away with the Southeast and seemed primed to make a long postseason run. They still might, but Lundqvist is on top of his game in goal, and the seventh-seeded Rangers are one win away from reaching the second round for the third straight year. Lundqvist tied a career playoff high with 38 saves ¡ª 19 in the second period ¡ª and has stopped 141 of 149 Washington shots in four games. The Capitals have recorded 50 more shots than the Rangers and outscored them 8-7, but it's only earned them one win in the series. "He saved the game again. What can I say about him? He's great right now," said Ovechkin, who finally scored his first goal of the series. "I wasn't frustrated. It's a game. He's a great goalie. He has to make some great saves. We have good players, too." Those stars include Mike Green, who led NHL defensemen this season with 31 goals and 73 points but has been held to two assists in the series, and forwards Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom. If they don't step up, the Capitals could be eliminated as early as Friday in Game 5 at home, where they dropped the first two games of the series. "We should approach it like we're down 3-1, be as desperate as we can. Match their intensity," said Rangers captain Chris Drury, who fought off an injury and scored his first goal of the series. "They're going to be playing at home. They have a loud building. They have good fans. We just have to come out and match them." Ovechkin hadn't found the net until his 32nd shot of the series got past Lundqvist, hit the crossbar, and found its way in at 2:13 of the third period to bring the Capitals within 2-1. He later hit the post again during a power play and had another drive snapped out of danger by Lundqvist's quick glove. In all, Ovechkin recorded 11 shots Wednesday while the Rangers took 11 shots in the first period and only 10 the rest of the way. Washington went 0-for-6 on the power play. "It seems like we are throwing everything at him and he's making great saves," Green said. "They're playing well but the good thing is that it's not over yet. "We can't get down. Obviously, it's a deep hole. There is no reason why if we stay positive, we can't come back and make this interesting. We were down like this last year and got to game 7 and lost on a penalty in overtime. Anything can happen." Lundqvist had been matched at the other end by 20-year-old rookie Simeon Varlamov, who shut out the Rangers for 126 minutes, 11 seconds since allowing Ryan Callahan's goal early in New York's 1-0 victory in Game 2. That included a 4-0 win at Madison Square Garden in Game 3. Varlamov, who took over after Jose Theodore's shaky performance in the Capitals' 4-3 loss in the series opener, gave up a ricochet goal to defenseman Paul Mara with 6:05 left in the first period to let New York get started. His biggest mistake came in the second when he bobbled Drury's soft shot out of his glove and allowed Drury to put in the rebound at 2:23 to make it 2-0. Lundqvist made that stand up, even after Ovechkin scored and Sean Avery took a pair of undisciplined penalties in the third that gave Washington great opportunities to tie it. "He is the best, and when you've got the best goalie it takes a little bit of pressure off yourself," Rangers forward Brandon Dubinsky said. "Even if it's subconsciously, you don't ever want to put pressure on one guy in particular, but he just has that calming presence about him that lets the rest of us do our thing and know that if we put together a solid 60 that we're going to win most nights." Bruins 4, Canadiens 1 At Montreal, Michael Ryder scored twice and assisted on David Krejci's goal to help Boston complete a four-game sweep. Tim Thomas made 26 saves, and Phil Kessel also scored in Boston's first series victory in 10 years. The top-seeded Bruins had lost five straight series ¡ª falling to Montreal in 2002, '04 and '08 ¡ª since beating Carolina in the first round in 1999. Andrei Kostitsyn scored for Montreal, which completed its 100th season with eight straight losses. Flames 6, Blackhawks 4 At Calgary, Alberta, Eric Nystrom scored off a rebound with 6:56 remaining and Calgary evened the best-of-seven series 2-2. Nystrom also had two assists, Olli Jokinen scored the his first two playoff goals, Jarome Iginla completed a two-goal game with an empty-netter, and Adrian Aucoin added a goal for the Flames, 4-2 winners Monday night at home after dropping the first two games in Chicago. Patrick Kane, Kris Versteeg, Cam Barker and Samuel Pahlsson scored for Chicago. Game 5 is Saturday night in Chicago.

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