SPORTS - McDyess leaves late vs Grizzlies with neck strain (AP)

SPORTS - McDyess leaves late vs Grizzlies with neck strain (AP)

AP – Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley (11) drives against San Antonio Spurs power forward Antonio …

– 2 hrs 6 mins ago

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – San Antonio center Antonio McDyess hurt his neck and had to leave the game late in the Spurs' 91-88 loss to Memphis.

The center has a strained neck after X-rays Saturday night were negative. His status is day to day with the Spurs now trailing 2-1 in their opening round series. Game 4 is Monday night.

McDyess slumped down near midcourt with his teammates surrounding him with 2:56 left on the clock and Memphis up 86-82. Tim Duncan waved to the bench for help, and McDyess was helped to the bench. Then he went to the locker room.

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SPORTS - Wozniacki faces home hope Goerges in Stuttgart final (AFP)

SPORTS - Wozniacki faces home hope Goerges in Stuttgart final (AFP)

AP – Jim Furyk reacts after missing birdie putt on the eighth green during the third round of The Heritage …

By PETE IACOBELLI, AP Sports Writer Pete Iacobelli, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Apr 23, 7:43 pm ET

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. – Luke Donald was more concerned about who was behind him at The Heritage than what's ahead should he win Sunday.

Donald shot a 1-under 70 on Saturday to take a one-stroke leader over defending champion Jim Furyk after three rounds at Harbour Town Golf Links. A victory would vault the third-ranked Donald to No. 1. Donald knows if thinks too much about that, he'll lose sight of the stellar field trying to chase him down.

"I think there's a bunch of people behind us that have a good chance, too, so I don't count anyone else out," he said. "It should be a good battle out there."

It usually is with Donald and Furyk.

Furyk, the American ranked 13th in the world, used a par save from the bunker on the 72nd hole to win the Tour Championship by a stroke over Donald last year and claim the $10 million FedEx Cup bonus.

Donald came right back the next week, beating Furyk 1-up in Ryder Cup singles in Europe's victory.

"I got a little revenge," he said.

This time the prize for Donald would be two-fold: His first season with multiple wins on the PGA Tour and the elevation to No. 1 in the world.

There were seven of the world's top 20 players here this week, a field strong enough to push Donald past the idle No. 1 Martin Kaymer and No. 2 Lee Westwood.

Westwood would take the top spot with a win at the Indonesian Masters, where he holds a five-stroke lead, should Donald falter.

The two Englishmen exchanged messages about their play.

"Yeah, he sent me a message yesterday just saying, 'Good playing,' and I sent one back," Donald said. "We're obviously Ryder Cup partners and we're friends off the course. We never wish bad on each other."

Donald let a few early nerves show through by hitting his approach to par-5 second hole out of bounds left, leading to a double-bogey 7 that dropped him from the lead.

But Donald steeled himself with two solid par saves on the third and fourth holes when his iron play was shaky. He was in the rough in front of a trap on par-4 third, yet chipped it up to 6 feet for the par.

Then, Donald was well right of the green on the par-3 fourth. Again, he saved himself with the short game, chipping inside of 2 feet.

Donald regained his momentum on the par-5 fifth with a 12 footer for birdie.

"Those up-and-downs and keeping some momentum going where I wasn't going completely backwards was big for me," Donald said.

Brendon de Jonge (66) and Scott Verplank (67) were two shots behind at 9 under. Masters runner-up Jason Day (71), Ricky Barnes (67) and Tommy Gainey (67) were 8 under.

Furyk held the lead for much of the back nine at Harbour Town Golf Links, but bogeyed the closing lighthouse hole for a 69 to drop back.

Donald, who won the Match Play Championship and was fourth at the Masters, called on the steady, focused style that made him one of the world's best to move back to the top with birdies on the fifth and seventh holes. Donald's put his approach on the 16th hole to 3 feet for his final birdie to reach 11 under.

Furyk had his chance to hold on to a share of the lead, but sent his second shot on the 18th hole into a bunker behind the green, and could not make the 16-footer for par after blasting out.

Furyk and Donald will be paired in the final group Sunday for what sets up as a fabulous finish in what might be the final Heritage. A PGA Tour fixture since 1969, the tournament is without a title sponsor, which tour and event leaders say is essential for returning in 2012.

Both have become Harbour Town masters, combining for 14 rounds in the 60s over the past three tournaments.

"I think I'm there, I'm in position and when I play well I feel like this golf course really suits my game," Furyk said.

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SPORTS - Penn, Fitch fight to draw at UFC 127 (AP)

SPORTS - Penn, Fitch fight to draw at UFC 127 (AP)

AP – Pole sitter Joey Logano (20) and the rest of the field start the race in the NASCAR Nationwide Series …

– Sat Apr 23, 7:02 pm ET

GLADEVILLE, Tenn. – Carl Edwards was coming in for his postrace news conference when a race official remarked that he now has enough guitars to start a band.

Edwards certainly hit all the right notes Saturday to capture his fifth career victory at Nashville Superspeedway, holding off Kyle Busch to win the Nashville 300 and receive another of the guitars given to winners at the track.

"We'll need a drummer," Edwards joked.

Edwards set the pace for much of the Nationwide race at the track, where he has won four Nationwide events and one Trucks Series race. He led 148 of the 225 laps and passed Busch on lap 191 to take the lead for good. On the final lap, Edwards weaved past a slower car and held Busch at bay as he took the checkered flag.

Edwards said the finish was more of a struggle than it appeared.

"Early in the race, our car was really superior," he said. "I could kind of stretch out a lead whenever I wanted to, but at the end of the race, I was really pedaling for all I had. The guys in the 18 (Busch) ... did a good job of adjusting their car.

"It was kind of exciting at the beginning of the race. I thought we were going to run off with this thing, it's going to be easy, but (at the end) that was white-knuckling, driving as hard as I could drive, racing him and Brad (Keselowski)."

Keselowski, a two-time winner in Nashville, finished third, edging polesitter Joey Logano in fourth, and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in fifth.

Edwards finished his victory with his trademark back flip and a brief trip to the edge of the grandstands to acknowledge cheering fans. It was Edwards' 31st Nationwide win overall and second of the season, having won two weeks ago at Texas.

Edwards plans to auction the trophy guitar on eBay with the proceeds going to the family of Roush-Fenway Racing employee Jonathan Bunting, who died earlier this week in North Carolina.

Edwards' victory kept Busch from pulling off the first back-to-back wins at the track. Busch had dominated in winning the Trucks race Friday night.

"It was a good race for us. (The car) was fast, just not fast enough. It was off just a little bit in every area, and we could only muster a second today," Busch said.

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SPORTS - Memphis gets first home playoff win, top Spurs (AP)

SPORTS - Memphis gets first home playoff win, top Spurs (AP)

AP – Memphis Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph (50) drives past San Antonio Spurs power forward Antonio …

By TERESA M. WALKER, AP Sports Writer Teresa M. Walker, Ap Sports Writer – 1 hr 19 mins ago

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Zach Randolph is known for being a beast in the paint. Now his feathery touch from outside helped the Memphis Grizzlies keep making history.

Even though it's not the shot anyone expected — except the big power forward.

Randolph scored 25 points, including a clinching 3-pointer with 41.9 seconds left, and the Memphis Grizzlies beat the San Antonio Spurs 91-88 Saturday night for the franchise's first playoff victory on its home court.

"One would probably think that you'd like Zach to shoot the 3 rather than continue to lay it in against you, so it was a heck of a shot and part of the playoffs is about making shots," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Shane Battier passed the ball to Randolph and said later he wished he could take credit for the busted play.

"I think there was a collective holding of the breath at the Forum when that shot was in the air, and it went through," Battier said. "It was one of those moments where it's like: 'No, no, no, no, no, yes. Yes."

These Grizzlies have been busy this postseason at the Spurs' expense. They opened this series with their first playoff win, and now the No. 8 seed has a 2-1 lead over the Western Conference's best team during the regular season. Memphis is trying to become just the fourth team to knock off the top-seeded team.

Game 4 is Monday night in Memphis.

Marc Gasol scored 17 points, Mike Conley had 14 and O.J. Mayo had 10 off the bench for Memphis.

Manu Ginobili led the Spurs with 23 points. Tony Parker had 16, Tim Duncan 13 and George Hill 11.

The Spurs only led early and never by more than 1, the last at 12-11. They fell behind by as much as 15 before managing to tie it up twice in the final 8:06, the last at 80 on a Ginobili free throw.

Parker's reverse layup pulled the Spurs within 88-86 with 1:04 left. The Grizzlies took a timeout, and Randolph looked for an option with the shot clock ticking down, then he put up the 3-pointer over Duncan's outstretched arm. The ball fell in with 41.9 seconds left for a 91-86 lead that sparked fans to chant his nickname "Z-Bo, Z-Bo."

"It was 5 seconds on the shot clock," Randolph said. "I had a little space to see it, so I just shot the shot. It went in, but that's the shot I work on and I practice every day shooting so it felt good when it left my hand."

Duncan said he didn't think that Randolph would try that shot so late in the game.

"I leaned back and tried to make sure that there wasn't' a quick big-to-big roll, but he hit a 3 from that range. It was a great shot," Duncan said.

Memphis coach Lionel Hollins said the play was designed to feed the ball inside to Gasol. When Duncan didn't come out on Randolph, Hollins said he knew the power forward would shoot away. Not that he's complaining.

"I'm happy we're where we are," Hollins said. "We could be in that other position in that other locker room, so it's nice to be where we are. And it's nice to get a victory at home in front of our fans in a playoff game. That's special as well because they've been wanting one and hoping for one, and we came in and got it the first opportunity."

Ginobili hit a pair of free throws with 31 seconds, but the Spurs couldn't get off a shot coming up the right side at the end. Ginobili got stopped and looked like he was trying to pass while Duncan tried to call timeout. He was too late as the horn sounded, sparking a big celebration.

"I thought we had a little more time," Ginobili said.

He credited Gasol and Conley with playing tight defense on him to keep him from getting a shot off and forcing him to try to toss the ball out toward the top of the key.

"But no, there wasn't enough time," Ginobili said. "But now it's easier ... I wish we had called a timeout or done something different."

Gasol said there was no way he was going to let Ginobili take a 3.

"I didn't care. You can do whatever to get a two. You're not going to shoot a three," Gasol said.

The Spurs managed to outrebound Memphis 48-37, but the Grizzlies had a 44-40 edge in the paint as they worked the ball inside to Randolph and Gasol. They also had a 17-9 edge on the fast break against the Spurs. The NBA's best 3-point shooting team was a meager 2 of 15. Memphis hit only 4 of 11, including Randolph's big 3.

Antonio McDyess went to the locker room with 2:56 left in pain. He was diagnosed with a neck strain with X-rays negative and his status now day to day. Popovich spoke without knowing McDyess' status and said it didn't look good.

The Spurs thought getting Ginobili back and winning Game 2 got them back on track. But San Antonio ended the regular season losing six of their final seven road games, and Memphis won 30 of its 46 games in the FedExForum. The Grizzlies also had just the fifth sellout crowd of the season rooting them on.

Memphis tapped into the city's past by bringing out wrestler Jerry Lawler to help fire up the sold-out crowd after a party outside the FedExForum in anticipation of the Grizzlies' first home playoff game since 2006. One fan had a blown-up cutout of Eva Longoria's head with a Grizzlies' headband, and it was held up near courtside trying to taunt Parker.

"Did you see that building?" Mayo said. "That was the difference. It was just unbelievable. Our crowd, everybody up swinging a white towel, and everybody on the same sheet of music. If you want to know the difference, it was that home court."

All the excitement may have been too much as Memphis, with eight Grizzlies in their first home playoff game, missing six of its first seven shots. They settled down and hit nine of the next 11.

The Spurs had made an NBA-best 58 free throws through the first two games, more than the Grizzlies had even attempted. Gasol picked up a foul on the Spurs' first possession, except Duncan hit only air on his first attempt while clanking the second off the front rim.

The Spurs' last lead in the first half came when George Hill tipped in a shot at 12-11. Gasol put Memphis ahead with a three-point play, kicking off an 18-8 spurt that left the Grizzlies up 29-20 at the end of the first quarter. The Grizzlies pushed that lead to as much as 15.

NOTES: Randolph was 8 of 43 from 3-point range during the season and had attempted only one in the postseason before his clinching shot. ... With Duncan, the Spurs have never won a series they started with home-court advantage only to lose two of the first three. ... Memphis had been 0-4 in the playoffs at the FedExForum and 0-6 overall at home.

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SPORTS - Pacers beat Bulls 89-84 to avoid elimination (AP)

SPORTS - Pacers beat Bulls 89-84 to avoid elimination (AP)

AP – Chicago Bulls' Derrick Rose (1) puts up a shot against Indiana Pacers' Darren Collison (2) and Josh McRoberts …

By CLIFF BRUNT, AP Sports Writer Cliff Brunt, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Apr 23, 6:50 pm ET

INDIANAPOLIS – Chicago's fans traveled to Indiana by the thousands, planning to celebrate a first-round playoff sweep.

The Pacers sent the red and black-clad swarm back home disappointed. After fourth-quarter collapses in each of the first three games, Indiana avoided elimination by holding off a furious rally to beat the Bulls 89-84 in Game 4 of the first-round Eastern Conference series on Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers not only faced superstar guard Derrick Rose and the pressure of a 3-0 deficit in the series, they dealt with an unexpected roadblock — a hostile environment on its home floor at Conseco Fieldhouse. The crowd shocked Pacers center Jeff Foster, who has played for the Pacers for his entire 12-year NBA career.

"I have seen every professional game in this arena, and I have never seen anything like that," he said.

The young Pacers maintained their composure.

"We've lost games like this recently where they have come back," Pacers interim coach Frank Vogel said. "Today we grew, and we held them off."

The Bulls still lead the series 3-1 and will have a chance to close it out at home Tuesday.

Danny Granger led the Pacers with 24 points, including four free throws in the final 14.1 seconds while being booed. He said the team remembered its earlier failures in the series.

"Maybe there were a few flashbacks," he said. "More importantly, I was just trying to get my team to calm down. We lost our poise those last two or three minutes and I was just trying to get them calmed down a little bit."

Chicago's Carlos Boozer missed a 3-pointer that could have tied the game in the closing seconds. The Bulls were looking to set up Luol Deng for the final shot.

"I caught the ball at the elbow and I was supposed to set a backscreen for Luol," Joakim Noah, who led the Bulls with 21 points and 14 rebounds, said. "They played it well, they denied the dribble handoff. Really, it was a mental mistake. When you're in that position, you've got to call timeout, so we learn from it."

The Pacers never trailed and broke through after losing the first three games by a combined 15 points. The Pacers squandered double-digit leads in the first two games and a five-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 3.

It was Indiana's first playoff win since 2006.

Vogel had been disappointed that Indiana's efforts against the top seed in the East hadn't been rewarded with a win.

"I think we deserve to be in the series," he said. "I'm still upset that it's 1-3. We should be up in the series."

Rose, who averaged 32.7 points in the first three games, finished with 15 points and 10 assists. He sprained his left ankle late in the first quarter and scored eight points on 3-for-16 shooting the rest of the way.

"A sprained ankle is going to slow you down a little bit, but all of my shots were on line," he said. "They were just short. No excuses. It's the playoffs. I've sprained my ankle many times, you've just got to make shots."

Chicago trailed 84-71 with 2:17 remaining before making a final rally.

A three-point play by Deng cut Indiana's lead to 84-77 with 1:36 to go. A goaltending call against Roy Hibbert on a shot by Boozer sliced the deficit to 84-79 with 46.5 seconds remaining, and a steal and dunk by Rose pulled the Bulls within 84-81.

Mike Dunleavy hit the second of two free throws with 17.9 seconds left to make it 85-81.

Noah made a layup with 15.3 seconds remaining, and Foster fouled him while trying to take a charge. Noah made the free throw to cut Indiana's lead to 85-84.

The Pacers barely got the ball inbounds, but Granger was fouled with 14.1 seconds left. Through a booing crowd on his home court, Granger made both free throws to make it 87-84.

Boozer's 3-point try from the left corner was short, and Granger rebounded. Granger made two free throws with a second remaining to close the deal.

The Bulls shot just 38 percent.

Rose came up hobbling after going for a layup against Darren Collison. Rose went to the locker room briefly before returning to the bench. He re-entered the game with 10:29 left in the second quarter.

Indiana closed the first half on a 17-3 run to take a 49-33 lead at the break. Ten different Pacers scored before halftime.

Early in the third quarter, Hibbert blocked Rose on a layup attempt. Granger collected the rebound then dribbled nearly the length of the floor for a layup to give the Pacers a 55-37 lead.

Things nearly fell apart for Indiana again, but the Pacers had just enough.

"The mentality is play it like it's the last game you ever play in your life," Granger said. "We played like that tonight."

The Bulls now have to regroup for the first time this postseason.

"It's a tough loss," Noah said. "We didn't play well in the first half, so we definitely have to do a better job with that, and I think we're a team that deals with adversity pretty well."

Notes: The league upgraded two of Foster's hits from Thursday's game to flagrant 1 fouls. Pacers coach Frank Vogel said before the game he had no reaction to it. ... All four games at Conseco Fieldhouse between the Bulls and Pacers this season were sellouts. The Pacers, including the playoffs, had only eight sellouts all year. ... The Pacers wore gold uniforms instead of their usual home whites.

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SPORTS - Vinokourov rules out coalition to beat Gilbert (AFP)

SPORTS - Vinokourov rules out coalition to beat Gilbert (AFP)

AP – Philadelphia Flyers' goalie Brian Boucher looks back at the puck sitting in the net in the first period …

By JOHN WAWROW, AP Sports Writer John Wawrow, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Apr 23, 6:53 pm ET

BUFFALO, N.Y. – The Buffalo Sabres have one more injury to overcome. The Philadelphia Flyers are preparing to give their goalie carousel one more spin.

Where and when this rough-and-tumble, momentum shifting first-round series stops is anyone's guess. The only thing certain is the Sabres have a 3-2 edge, and a chance to finish off the Flyers in Game 6 at Buffalo on Sunday.

"No excuses," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said Saturday, shortly after announcing the team will be without its top two-way forward Jason Pominville. "We're going to have to do whatever it takes."

Pominville was hurt in the first period of a 4-3 overtime win on Friday, when he limped off after appearing to be cut just below the left calf after colliding with Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk.

Pominville ranks second on the team with four playoff points (a goal and three assists), and played a critical role on a penalty-killing unit that's limited the Flyers to converting two of 26 chances.

This is but the latest test for a team that overcame the loss of top-line center Derek Roy in late December. Buffalo responded by going 29-11-6 in its final 46 games to finish seventh by clinching a playoff berth in its second-last game of the season.

"Everybody thought, 'Oh boy, it's looking kind of bleak now,'" Ruff said. "But this team has found a way to rally around each other."

The Flyers seek to find the same resolve while facing a familiar round of questions about their goaltending now that they've gone through all three — Sergei Bobrovsky, Brian Boucher and now Michael Leighton — to varying results.

Coach Peter Laviolette isn't saying whom he'll go with a day after Leighton made his series debut Friday in replacing Boucher, who gave up three goals on 11 shots.

"It will probably be a combination of everything, certainly where we are now and how the playoffs have gone," Laviolette said in discussing what will factor into his decision.

Boucher is the Flyers most experienced goalie and has won both games in the series since replacing Bobrovsky in the first period of Game 2.

"Brian is a veteran goaltender, who's proven he can come back and play," Laviolette said.

Whichever goalie starts, this is not foreign territory for the Flyers. They went through three goalies last year in making their run to the Stanley Cup finals, and also overcame a 3-0 series deficit to eliminate Boston in the second round.

"Yeah, it's the same approach, same situation," forward Blair Betts said. "We win tomorrow afternoon in Buffalo, and we feel we have the advantage back on our side. It's not going to be easy, but it's a simple thing as far as mindset."

The Flyers are 3-12 when trailing 3-2 in a series, while having forced Game 7 six times.

Don't rule out the possibility of Chris Pronger's return on Sunday.

Though the Flyers continue to list Pronger as day to day, the rugged, veteran defenseman took part in his most extensive drills in practice Saturday. He's missed 21 games since having surgery to repair a broken right hand in March.

The Flyers have missed Pronger's presence. Despite winning the Atlantic Division title, they closed the season going 6-4-6 without Pronger.

Help might be on the way for the Sabres, too.

Ruff said Roy and Jochen Hecht could be days away from returning. Roy has been out since tearing a left quadriceps tendon on Dec. 23. Hecht has missed 11 games with what the team is calling an upper body injury.

The Sabres have confidence in proving they can win no matter who's out.

"The guys have dug in and we've got ourselves in a good spot," veteran forward Mike Grier said. "But I think we know this game coming up here tomorrow is probably going to be the toughest, hardest game a lot of guys in here have played in."

Making their second consecutive playoff appearance, the Sabres haven't advanced past the first round since 2007. Despite injuries, they're getting solid goaltending from Ryan Miller, who has shut out the Flyers twice, and a balanced scoring attack.

The Sabres survived a major scare on Friday when they squandered a 3-0 lead only to have Tyler Ennis convert a rebound at 5:31 of overtime.

"It was a pretty awesome feeling," Ennis said, acknowledging he watched the replay a few times. "But I'm looking forward to the next one."

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SPORTS - Capitals top Rangers 3-1, win series in 5 games (AP)

SPORTS - Capitals top Rangers 3-1, win series in 5 games (AP)

AP – New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, from Sweden, deflects the puck as Washington Capitals center …

By JOSEPH WHITE, AP Sports Writer Joseph White, Ap Sports Writer – Sat Apr 23, 7:55 pm ET

WASHINGTON – Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals have skated into unfamiliar territory. They have finally finished a series early, earning a bunch of days off during the playoffs.

Ovechkin quickly raced past and around defenseman Marc Staal to score the game's highlight goal in the second period. In the process, the Capitals made short work of the New York Rangers, beating them 3-1 Saturday to win the first-round series in five games.

"We've never done it before," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. "I'll have to give my head a shake when I wake up tomorrow and wonder where we're supposed to be playing."

Boudreau had led the Capitals through four playoff series since becoming coach in 2007, and all four had gone seven games. Three were won by the other team, including a first-round defeat to the Montreal Canadiens last year after Washington took a 3-1 lead.

"Last year, when we had the lead 3-1, we thought it was over, and it was not over," Ovechkin said. "We relaxed. Right now, everybody focused and nobody relaxed."

The three other Eastern Conference series will all need at least six games to complete, giving Washington time to take a breather while waiting to find out the next opponent. The Capitals hadn't won a series in fewer than seven games since 1998, when they beat Buffalo 4-2 on the way to their only appearance in the Stanley Cup finals. Their last loss in fewer than seven was to Tampa Bay in 2003.

"It couldn't have gone too much better than the way it did," defenseman Karl Alzner said. "We said to ourselves we wanted to try and win a series, if we can, in four or five and get as much rest as possible — because you definitely feel the effects through a seven-game series."

Mike Green and Alexander Semin also scored for Washington. Green seemed to be OK after taking another puck to the head. Michal Neuvirth made 26 saves and had a shutout until the final minute as the more defensive-minded Capitals allowed only eight goals in the series — and just two in their three home wins.

While Washington's players were intent on proving they can finish off an opponent, its fans were determined to win the shouting match with their New York counterparts. Rangers fans serenaded Boudreau with, "Can you hear us?" in Game 4 after he said the fans were louder in the nation's capital.

"Can you hear us?" goes without saying in the always sold out din located in the city's Chinese quarter, so the Capitals fans alternated "Let's go Caps" with "We are louder" and held up signs such as "No MSG in our Chinatown."

Capitals owner Ted Leonsis' production crew put on another laugh-out-loud pregame video, featuring "Friday the 13th" footage and the words "April 20th: Game IV — Jason Takes Manhattan," a reference to Jason Chimera's winning goal in double overtime of Game 4 in New York on Wednesday.

No doubt the dispute will linger over whose building is louder, but the more important argument has been firmly settled: The team from Washington is better.

Wojtek Wolski scored the lone goal in the waning seconds for the Rangers, who barely squeezed into the playoffs as the No. 8 seed with a dearth of skill players further depleted by the absence of second-leading scorer Ryan Callahan. Callahan broke a leg in the final week of the regular season.

"When I look back at the series, when we face a team like Washington that I think may be a little bit better, a little more skilled, we got some opportunities and you need to grab them. And we didn't," said New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who sat dejectedly in the locker room before speaking. "We had a chance to get some wins in (overtimes in) Game 1 or Game 4. You can't expect to win every night, but when you have that chance and opportunity, you need to grab it."

Rangers coach John Tortorella characterized the season as something like a stepping stone.

"We're still in a process, so we just keep on going and try to get better," Tortorella said. "I think there's areas in our team where we need to get better, so we continue to build."

Game 5 was the genesis of the Capitals' downfall a year ago, when they allowed two quick goals against the Canadiens. There would be no slow start this time.

Washington dominated the first period, putting constant pressure on Lundqvist and outshooting the Rangers 13-6, not counting 13 more shots that were blocked.

The onslaught produced the first first-period goal of the series, a power-play score that came when Green came to the side of the crease to poke in a rebound that deflected off Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi and into the net. Instead of a celebration, there was a melee: New York's Brandon Dubinsky shoved Brooks Laich into the crossbar, starting a six-player scuffle that resulted in four roughing penalties and a Rangers bench minor.

Green missed 26 of the last 28 games of the regular season with a concussion after taking a shot off the head on Feb. 6 and elbow to the head from New York's Derek Stepan on Feb. 25. Green went down again in a scary moment Saturday, when he was hit flush on the helmet by a shot from Rangers defenseman Matt Gilroy.

Small pieces of Green's helmet went flying as he lay on the ice. He went to the locker room under his own power and later skated during a timeout but didn't play again.

"He's OK. We could have played him," Boudreau said. "The longer it went, we kept saying, 'Let's see if we can get by.' ... I wish he'd get the magnets out of his helmet."

Notes: Ovechkin and Semin each scored three goals in the series. ... Capitals RW Mike Knuble missed his second straight game. The Capitals haven't disclosed his injury, but he was struck on his right hand by a shot in Game 3. ... Tortorella said Girardi sustained a dislocated finger and had X-rays taken after the game. ... The home team won four of the five games, bucking a league-wide trend in which the visiting team took 22 of the first 37 games in this year's playoffs.

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