Capitals 3, Rangers 2: Alex Ovechkin hasn’t been seeing a ton of ice time lately, but when it mattered most last night, the Capitals’ captain delivered the game-winning goal on a zooming slap shot past New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. The Capitals, trying to bounce back from their loss in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Mike Knuble and Jason Chimera. The Rangers started creeping back with less than a minute to go in the first, when Brad Richards snuck one past Braden Holtby. The Caps’ rookie goaltender looked much more like his old self last night and made 26 saves. The Rangers’ tied the game about seven minutes into the third period on a power play after Mike Knuble was boxed for high-sticking.

With the game tied, too much of the remaning time seemed like it was being consumed in front of Holtby, who made some of his best plays with the clock running down. A few fortuitous icing calls helped shift the momentum toward Rangers territory, setting up Ovechkin for his series-tying shot. As the Capitals wore down the last minutes of the third period, things got tense again when the Rangers started driving back toward Holtby. But a slap shot off the crossbar bounced the puck to the Capitals, who whittled down the last seconds for the win.

As for his limited playing time, Ovechkin said it just comes with being part of the team. “Sometimes you just have to put eye in your butt and, you know, play for everybody,” he told the Post.

The series resumes tomorrow at the Verizon Center.

Jerk Alert: The Nationals were off last night, licking their wounds after a three-game sweep by the Los Angeles Dodgers. But the team returns to Nationals Park tonight, bringing with them for the first time as a major leaguer rookie loudmouth outfielder Bryce Harper. In two games, Harper is hitting 2-for-6. More stunningly, he hasn’t gotten in trouble yet for running his mouth. Despite their West Coast slide, the Nationals are still atop the National League East, if only by half a game ahead of the Atlanta Braves. But the Arizona Diamondbacks, coming in tonight for a three-game set, are middling. Jordan Zimmerman gets the start for Washington.