New York Rangers forward Derek Stepan was breaking into the zone when he took the puck to the corner and found himself running out of real estate. Seeing Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby playing him too aggressively, he decided to throw a backhander off Holtby’s leg and it ended up in the net.
I’m not sure what possessed Holtby to play Stepan to aggressively and cut down the angle on Stepan’s passing lane to Marian Gaborik when the Capitals defensemen were right there. Whatever the reason, I’m sure he regrets it now. The goal tied the game at 1 and gave the Rangers all of the momentum as they went on to win 4-1.
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