Stanley Cup Playoffs - Chris Kreider Lifts Rangers Over Capitals The fans at Madison Square Garden were on their feet, chanting for Chris Kreider. Kreider, the rookie forward who was still on his parents" cellphone plan when he joined the Rangers from Boston College three weeks earlier, had just blasted a 43-foot slap shot past Washington goalie Braden Holtby seven minutes into the third period. Kreider's goal, which came after he was sent into the clear on a long pass from Derek Stepan, gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead over the workmanlike Washington Capitals on Saturday afternoon. One and a half minutes later, Brad Richards scored from close range to make it 3-1. That was how it ended, giving the Rangers a one-game-to-none lead in their second-round Stanley Cup series with the Capitals. Richards, the statesmanlike veteran, and Kreider, the new kid with two goals in five career N.H.L. games, were the Rangers" best forwards over the second half of their seven-game series against the Ottawa Senators in the opening round, which ended with Thursday night's 2-1 Rangers victory at the Garden. They were again on Saturday, in a game that was tedious at times. The Capitals employed a slogging style of play throughout their first-round upset of the defending champion Boston Bruins, winning it in overtime of Game 7. Every game in that series was decided by one goal, the first time that has happened in the N.H.L. The Capitals and the Bruins were either tied or separated by one goal for all but 2 minutes 54 seconds of the series" 448 minutes of play, or 0.007 percent of the series. The Capitals had the lead for the 2:54, so after Richards's goal, they were down by more than one for the first time in the playoffs. On Saturday, the passing and shooting lanes were so clogged that both goalies, the Rangers" Henrik Lundqvist and the Capitals" Holtby, often had little to do. Lundqvist finished with 17 saves; Holtby, a rookie in this postseason when first- and second-year players have taken starring roles, stopped 11. The Rangers struck first, 12:38 into the second period. Artem Anisimov scored on a wraparound after coming from behind the net with Washington defenseman Mike Green draped over his back. The play was started by Ruslan Fedotenko, who fought off two Capitals against the end boards to win the puck and get it to Anisimov. Earlier in the period, Fedotenko was brilliant in helping to kill off a two-man disadvantage while Marc Staal and Brandon Prust were in the penalty box. First he blocked a shot from Alex Ovechkin, then dived to break up a centering pass in front of the Rangers" net and clear the puck down the ice. While the Rangers were still one man down, he dove to intercept a break-in pass at the blue line, destroying a Washington two-on-one rush. Any ideas that the Capitals could not rebound from their one-goal deficit evaporated in the dying moments of the period. Brooks Laich broke into the Rangers" zone along the right boards and sent a perfect saucer pass to Jason Chimera, who tipped the puck between the legs of Lundqvist with four seconds left in the period. Forwards Brandon Dubinsky and Brian Boyle did not play for the Rangers. Dubinsky sustained a leg injury in the third period the Game 7 victory over Ottawa and did not practice Friday. Boyle, who did practice on Friday, was still recovering from the concussion he received from a Chris Neil check in Game 5 of the Ottawa series. To help fill the void at forward, Steve Eminger dressed for the first time since March 15, when he sprained his right ankle. Eminger, normally a defenseman, took four shifts on the fourth line alongside John Mitchell and Mike Rupp.