NY Daily News: Capitals rip Rangers at Garden, force Game 7 in Washington

It’s on to Game 7. And unless the Rangers have a stunning turnaround in them, it’s on to next season.

Given a chance on home ice to finish off the Washington Capitals and advance to the second round of the NHL playoffs, the Rangers were routed for a second straight time, a 5-3 pasting in Game 6 at the Garden Sunday that sends this series to a deciding seventh game tomorrow night in D.C.

NY Daily News: Rangers want justice from NHL after Donald Brashear’s hit on Blair Betts

The Rangers’ list grew longer Sunday, as Donald Brashear knocked Blair Betts out of the game with a vicious headhunting elbow 9:54 in. On-ice officials saw the hit but stunningly ruled it clean. The Rangers – who likely will be without Betts for Tuesday’s Game 7 – believe the league will take a different view.

And in one of the more bizarre revelations of the season, stand-in coach Jim Schoenfeld said after the game that Brandon Dubinsky had required a tetanus shot during the second period because he’d been bitten on the arm by Caps defenseman Shoane Morrison during a post-whistle scrum. “I don’t know what effect that will have on him, so his status remains in question,” Schoenfeld said. “As he was trying to show it to the linesman, instead of looking, he gave him a 10-minute misconduct. That was a double whammy for us.”

NY Daily News: John Tortorella and Rangers are all wet and out of options against Capitals

The Rangers, and coach-for-a-day Jim Schoenfeld, weren’t making excuses. Too many mistakes, they admitted, too many one-on-one battles they didn’t win. (Schoenfeld: “Huge individual breakdowns.”)

He’ll be replaced by John (Water Bottle) Tortorella for the game in Washington but he left the club with one hopeful line – “I think our guys have enough character, enough courage and the want to get it done.” Followed by this frightening thought: “If not, what is the sense of even going to Washington?”

NY Post: WASHINGTON DOMINATES, FORCES GAME 7

Henrik Lundqvist, who had allowed eight goals on 149 shots in 240 minutes through Game 4, had his second straight stinker. When the Caps gained a 3-1 lead at 17:14 of the first, Lundqvist had allowed seven goals on 23 shots in his last 57:14. The netminder was pulled again after 40 minutes.

“Am I concerned [about Lundqvist]? Absolutely, but we’re concerned about our entire team,” Schoenfeld said. “I don’t think the concern about Henrik will last, but the team has to play better in front of him and Henrik has to be better.”

The Rangers committed breakdowns all over the ice yesterday. They were beaten to the puck, beaten for the puck, beaten up and down the ice, beaten by speed, beaten by size and strength.

NY Post: BETTS WILL MISS GAME 7

The Rangers will be forced to play Game 7 against the Caps tomorrow night in Washington without key penalty killer Blair Betts. According to Game 6 replacement coach Jim Schoenfeld, Bettts “was hurt significantly,” by an uncalled open ice elbow to the head delivered by Donald Brashear at 9:54 of the first period of yesterday’s Game 6, 5-3 defeat to the Caps at the Garden.

NY Post: REALITY SINKS IN FOR BLUESHIRTS

“The teams that advance can’t wait for the challenge,” said Schoenfeld. “We have guys who are like that and some you have to squeeze it out of and some guys who I think were physically gassed. They wanted to give and didn’t have it. We have to find a way to get them revved up.

“I would be totally surprised if to a man our guys don’t think we can go into Washington and win. Now the key might be to get them to believe in their teammate so that they can lock into their own jobs.

“The big offensive guys have not gotten it going. Because that job isn’t getting done, (Ryan) Callahan, (Brandon) Dubinsky, Staal, Girardi, (Freddy) Sjostrom, Betts, have to do that job plus their own. And Henrik can’t let in a bad goal because our guys aren’t getting them.

The Journal News: Rangers have shameful day on, off ice

Newsday: Rangers pushed to the brink after losing Game 6

Newsday: Don’t give up, Rangers fans; anything can happen