However, New York got a big break just 54 seconds later to cut the deficit in half

WASHINGTON -- Joe Pavelski isnt the United States oldest player at the World Cup of Hockey, nor does he have the most skill, size, experience or even the best beard.He just has the C on his chest.Pavelski has only been an NHL captain for one season, but the leader of the San Jose Sharks was given the leadership role for the Americans at the World Cup, which begins Saturday in Toronto. Its not a distinction he takes lightly even if hes not quite sure why coaches and players chose him over the likes of 2014 Olympic captain Zach Parise, New York Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh and others.Ive got a lot of respect for all these guys, and a lot of guys could do the job, Pavelski said Tuesday. Our performance last year mightve helped and the success we had leading (San Jose deep) in the playoffs. Those little things might help.Everyone else knows, and the answer is simple. Pavelski plays the game the way the U.S. wants to play it. Committed, gritty hockey, with skill and a straightforward style for coach John Tortorella and his staff.Theres not a lot of fluff to him, Tortorella said. He just plays. Hes not on the outside (of the rink). Hes skilled. Hes in the blue (crease). He is a complete player, and thats probably one of the best compliments you can give a guy is the word `complete and he is that.Dont confuse complete with Pavelski making up for a lack of production with intangibles. Few players produce quite like him.Only Alex Ovechkin has more NHL goals over the past three seasons than Pavelskis 116. Now 32, Pavelski is perhaps no longer one of the most underappreciated players in hockey. As Tortorella puts it, Pavelski is not a flashy guy, but he does everything in the game: offensively, defensively. He does everything really well.Complete is the kind of word Pavelski wants to hear about himself because it means hes doing his job -- well, all of his jobs. He will be a top-six center for the U.S. but should also be relied on as a key piece of the power play and the penalty kill.Thats how he wants it.You want to play in all the zones. I like taking faceoffs, I like blocking a shot, forechecking, Pavelski said. And at the end of the day you want to be that guy thats scoring goals and trying to help your team.No player had more ice time or goals in last seasons playoffs than Pavelski, who averaged 20:46 per game and scored 14 times while leading the Sharks to the Stanley Cup Final. And being captain in San Jose came with its own challenges as beloved veteran Joe Thornton was demoted to an alternate but remained a big voice in the locker room.That experience showcased Pavelskis leadership, but hes no stranger to international hockey. He also played for the U.S. at the 2010 and 2014 Olympics.Former St. Louis Blues captain David Backes called Pavelski an awesome choice to fill the captains role.Hes experienced, calm, level-headed, not afraid to say something when it needs to be said, Backes said. He knows his position in the league and on this team and hes certain of that and you see that confidence in him. ... Hes going to be the guy with the `C on his sweater and lead us on the ice, off the ice with his speech, with his example what he does every single shift. From that, we expect to follow and have great success.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno Paul Millsap Nuggets Jersey . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Allen Iverson Jersey . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.nuggetsproshop.com/Carmelo-Anthony-Nuggets-Jersey/ . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Jarred Vanderbilt Nuggets Jersey . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. Gary Harris Jersey .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. NEW YORK -- Chris Kreider proudly wore the Broadway Hat in the victorious New York Rangers dressing room as he tried to describe the feeling of saving his teams season. Kreider deftly steered in a pass from Rick Nash 7:03 into overtime, and the Rangers stayed alive in the Stanley Cup playoffs with a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night. "It is so surreal," the 22-year-old Kreider said. "Its not something that can really be explained. It is something that just has to be felt, but it was awesome. Im just excited to give these guys an opportunity to play another game. "There is no quit in this room." New York, which erased 2-0 and 3-2 deficits, still trails the Eastern Conference semifinal series 3-1. The Rangers will need to win again on Saturday in Boston to force a Game 6 back in Madison Square Garden. The Rangers, who were outshot 40-32, won a faceoff deep in their zone, and Nash rushed the puck up ice. He stopped above the right circle and fed a hard pass in front that Kreider skated into and tipped past goalie Tuukka Rask for his first of the playoffs. New York, 0-3 in overtime in these playoffs, was eliminated from the conference finals last year by New Jersey in extra time in Game 6. "It is time for us to win an overtime game," Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. "This was a big one. It was such a great feeling to see that puck go in." Kreider, who made his NHL debut in last years playoffs, has six career post-season goals in just 25 games. "I was lucky enough to play with Rick," Kreider said. "Just trying to go hard to the net. Hes such a talented player. He was able to find my tape, and I tried to put it on net." Derek Stepan and Brian Boyle scored tying goals in the third period for the Rangers, who even found success on the power play. Carl Hagelin netted New Yorks first goal of the game in the second period. Lundqvist made 37 saves for New York, which managed only five goals total in the first three games against Boston. Boston got second-period goals from Nathan Horton and rising star Torey Krug to build an early lead. Tyler Seguins first of the playoffs put the Bruins back on top 3-2 in the third. Only three teams have lost a series after leading 3-0, but the Bruins are the most recent to do it in 2010 against Philadelphia. "Its a resilient group," Kreider said. "The tone of the dressing room was the same as positive and upbeat. Were excited to play more hockey." One more win will put Boston back into the conference finals for the second time in three years. The Bruins gave up a 3-1 lead to Toronto in the first round before rallying in Game 7 to advance. "There is no panic here," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "We have to go back home and play a better game." Stepan got New York even at 2 just 1:15 into the third after a dump-in. Rask went behind the net to slow the puck down for defenceman Zdeno Chara, but Stepan forced a turnover when he surprised Chara from behind. Stepan gathered the puck, came around in front and tucked the puck inside the left post for his team-leading fourth of the playoffs. "We made some mistakes tonight, mistakes we havent been making, mistakes you cant have, and they capitalized on them," Chara said. "They made us pay. "These nights are going to happen. They played to win, and we didnt match their intensity at times." The Bruins made the most of another power play andd took a 3-2 lead just 2 seconds after a goalie interference penalty against Ryan McDonagh expired.dddddddddddd Seguin got to his own rebound in close and shoved a shot past Lundqvist at 8:06. However, the Rangers still wouldnt go away and they finally connected on the power play for the first time in the series and the third time in 41 man-advantages this post-season. Boyle took a pass from Stepan in the slot and snapped a drive that nestled into the middle of the net at 10:00 after the Bruins were caught with too many men on the ice. New York coach John Tortorella made desperate moves with his lineup, hoping to find some chemistry to spark his club. Tortorella benched star centre Brad Richards, who had just one goal in the playoffs, and rugged forward Arron Asham in favour of seldom-used Kris Newbury and Micheal Haley. "By no means is this a situation where I take him out and Im blaming him," Tortorella said of Richards. "I need to make decisions about what I feel is right for our team to win tonights game, and thats why I made that decision." Veteran Roman Hamrlik also played for the first time in these playoffs in place of injured defenceman Anton Stralman, who left Game 3 in the second period. The Bruins used their power play to grab control in the second period, connecting twice in a span of 3:02 to take a 2-0 lead. After Newbury was sent off for goalie interference, when he knocked down Rask, Horton got the scoring going. He tried to feed a pass from the bottom of the left circle into the slot, but the puck hit Rangers defenceman Michael Del Zotto and bounced back to Horton. This time, Horton let a shot go that struck the inside of Lundqvists left leg and caromed in at 4:39. Lundqvist blocked a hard shot by Chara, who rattled a drive off of the goalies mask. At the next stoppage, there was a brief delay as Lundqvist had repairs made. Del Zotto took an interference penalty 1:25 after Boston took the lead, and Krug made the Rangers pay again. Krug, a rookie defenceman who made his NHL post-season debut in the series opener, fired a slap shot from the Stanley Cup logo in the Rangers zone that sailed past Lundqvist and into the top right corner at 7:41. Krug has scored in three of the four games he has played in this series, and his goal gave Boston as many power-play tallies at Madison Square Garden in this playoff year as the host Rangers had mustered to that point. However, New York got a big break just 54 seconds later to cut the deficit in half. As the Rangers were moving the puck up ice, Rask stumbled in the crease and fell at around the same time that Hagelin was backhanding a shot on net. Sliding as slowly as possible, the puck eluded Rask as he tried to recover in time to stop it. "We need to be more focused, I need to be more focused," Rask said. "I just took a step to the side in what I think probably was a skate mark or something. I lost my balance and the rest is history. "We gave them a couple of gifts and it cost us the game." It took nearly seven minutes before New York recorded its first shot on Rask -- a drive by defenceman John Moore -- and Boston controlled the period with a 12-4 edge in shots. NOTES: The Rangers are 5-6 in Game 4 when trailing 3-0. ... Before Game 1, the Rangers and Bruins hadnt gone to overtime against each other in the playoffs since March 27, 1958. ... Kreider, who made his regular-season debut against Boston on Jan. 19, had two goals in 23 games this season. ' ' '