Rangers 4, Capitals 3: Defenseman Dan Girardi scored a power-play goal to snap a tie 59 seconds into the third period as sixth-seeded New York evened its Eastern Conference first-round series at two games apiece with visiting Washington.

Carl Hagelin collected a goal and two assists, Derek Stepan scored and Brad Richards tallied to end a nine-game postseason goalless streak. Derick Brassard notched a pair of assists and Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 27 shots for the Rangers, who have won their last eight games at Madison Square Garden.

Mathieu Perreault and defenseman Karl Alzner netted their respective first career postseason goals and Troy Brouwer also scored. Braden Holtby overcame a disastrous miscue and finished with 30 saves for the third-seeded Capitals, who host Game 5 on Friday.

With Jason Chimera serving an interference penalty, Girardi gave New York a 3-2 lead after accepting Brassard's backhanded saucer pass before beating Holtby from the outer edge of the left faceoff circle. Stepan scored from the doorstep at 6:02 of the third to provide insurance before Alzner's point shot handcuffed Lundqvist 89 seconds later.

Hagelin gave New York a 2-0 lead midway into the second period after he blasted a rolling puck from the left faceoff dot over the left shoulder of Holtby. Perreault answered nearly three minutes later by cleaning up a loose puck on the doorstep and Brouwer's backhand shot from the slot sailed inside the left post with 18 seconds remaining in the period.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Lundqvist will have a chance to repeat as the Vezina Trophy winner. The Swede was named as a finalist for the award for the fifth time in his career. Columbus G Sergei Bobrovsky and San Jose G Antti Niemi are also in the running, marking the first time that all three finalists were born and trained in Europe. ... Holtby paid for a failed clearing attempt late in the first period. New York LW Taylor Pyatt knocked the puck out of the air and after Capitals D John Carlson made a skate save on Hagelin, Richards blasted the rebound into the net. ... Rangers RW Ryane Clowe returned to the lineup after a four-game absence with an undisclosed injury. Clowe replaced C Darroll Powe, who suffered an undisclosed injury in Game 3.