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The Washington Capitals held serve on Wednesday night when Alexander Semin scored over 18 minutes into overtime to beat the New York Rangers in the first game of their best-of-seven first round series. The Rangers, the last team in the Eastern Conference to make the playoffs, had a 1-0 lead in the third period, but ultimately couldn’t find enough offense to steal a win from the No. 1 seed in the East.

Matt Gilroy broke a scoreless tie to give the Rangers the first lead of the series in the opening minutes of the third period, but Washington’s superstar Alexander Ovechkin tied the game with 6:16 left in regulation. In the closing minutes of the first overtime, Jason Arnott intercepted a clearing attempt from Rangers All-Star defenseman Marc Staal, then set up Semin’s game-winning slap shot.

Capitals rookie goaltender Michal Neuvirth made 24 saves to win his first NHL playoff start, while Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made 33 saves in a losing effort and fell to 14-16 in his postseason career. The Capitals held a slight edge in blocked shots over the game, 32-28. Game 2 is on Friday in Washington.

Of the five series openers on Wednesday, the Nashville Predators were the only road team to win, beating the Anaheim Ducks, 4-1. The Pittsburgh Penguins, Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks also won at home.