(My Sportsbook) - The Washington Capitals were finally able to break out of their offensive slump in Game 3 and will try to tie their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series tonight, when they visit the New York Rangers for Game 4 at Madison Square Garden.

The second-seeded Capitals dug themselves an 0-2 hole by losing the first two tests of this best-of-seven series on home ice, but were able to get a win in Monday's meeting in the Big Apple.

After scoring just three goals on 70 shots against Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist in D.C., the Capitals broke through for a 4-0 victory in Game 3 at the Garden.

Washington's offensive attack was led by Alexander Semin, who scored two goals in the decisive victory. Semin is leading the Capitals with three goals in the series.

The Caps also received stellar goaltending from rookie Simeon Varlamov, who stopped 33 shots to shut out the Rangers. It was not only the first playoff white-washing for Varlamov, but also his first shutout of any kind as an NHL backstop. It was also Washington's first postseason blanking since beating Tampa Bay, 3-0, on April 10, 2003.

The young Russian netminder saw action in just six games before head coach Bruce Boudreau named him as the starter for Game 2, replacing Jose Theodore, who was shelled for four goals on 21 shots in the series opener. All Varlamov has done so far is stop 56-of-57 shots New York has thrown his way.

Brooks Laich and Tom Poti also contributed power-play goals for the Capitals.

Nicklas Backstrom added three assists and Alex Ovechkin posted a pair of helpers for Washington. Ovechkin, who has led the NHL in goals in each of the last two seasons, has yet to light the lamp in this series, but is tied with Backstrom and Semin for the team lead with four points.

Lundqvist allowed four goals on 40 shots for the seventh-seeded Rangers, but still has a stellar .936 save percentage in this series.

The Rangers have lost two of their last three home playoff games, but did have a 26-11-4 record at the Garden this year. The Caps were 21-15-5 as the visiting club.

Washington will have to make history to win its first postseason series since 1998, as the club has never come back from an 0-2 deficit to take a series. The Caps are 0-4 all-time when falling behind two games to none.

The Rangers, meanwhile, have lost just one series in their history when taking a two games to none edge. New York led Chicago 2-0 in the 1968 quarterfinals only to watch the Blackhawks rattle off four consecutive victories.

This marks the fifth time the Rangers and Capitals are meeting in the postseason after the clubs split the first four encounters. The last time the teams battled in the playoffs was in 1994 when New York disposed of the Caps in five games during the conference semifinals. That was also the year that New York last won a Stanley Cup title.

Washington won three out of four regular-season matchups against the Rangers this season.