Ovechkin gives, and Rangers gladly take

Four-on-four hockey would seem to favor the Washington Capitals and their superstar, Alex Ovechkin, in their first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers.

But Ovechkin gave away the puck during a late-game four-on-four situation Sunday, then watched in horror as Brandon Dubinsky broke in and scored the tiebreaking goal with 1 minute, 39 seconds left to give the Rangers a 3-2 victory at Madison Square Garden.

Dubinsky's goal and Ovechkin's miscue kept the Rangers' hopes alive, and they now trail the Eastern Conference series 2-1 with Game 4 Wednesday in New York.

"It was my mistake," said Ovechkin, who had a goal and an assist. "I had the puck in the corner and tried to make a play. I turned it over, it hit something and went in for them."

Dubinsky's shot bounced off defenseman Karl Alzner, goalie Michal Neuvirth and then the stick of Ovechkin to give New York the victory.

"Bang bang ... it was in the net," Dubinsky said. "You try to make a conscious effort to shoot, jam the net and make it tougher on Neuvirth, and we did that."

Nashville 4, Anaheim 3: Mike Fisher broke a tie at 10:21 of the third period, and the Predators took advantage of Bobby Ryan sitting out the first of his two-game suspension by beating the Ducks in Nashville for a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.

The Predators outshot Anaheim 37-16 overall and led 2-0 after the first period before Teemu Selanne scored two goals 30 seconds apart late in the second to tie it.

"That could've been a real dagger if we let that one slip away," Nashville captain Shea Weber said. "They didn't really have a lot of chances, but the chances they had they scored."

Etc. • Detroit forward Johan Franzen, who suffered multiple cuts to his face in a victory over Phoenix on Saturday, didn't skate at practice on Sunday, but he isn't expected to miss any games. General Manager Ken Holland said Franzen would be ready to play Monday when the Wings, up 2-0 in the series, play the Coyotes in Glendale, Ariz.

• Flyers coach Peter Laviolette wouldn't reveal if Brian Boucher or Sergei Bobrovsky would start in goal for Monday's Game 3 against the Sabres. Laviolette pulled Bobrovsky from Game 2 after the goalie gave up three goals on seven shots.