Where earlier in the series the Caps settled for perimeter shots — blocked more often than not by an aggressive Rangers defense — on Friday they attacked, taking wide angles and then driving at the man covering them, especially in one-on-one situations.

Ovechkin tried it twice — getting off quality scoring chances — before finally succeeding with a goal he termed “lucky.” But even if it was, at least Washington was creating its own good fortune.

Later, forward Eric Fehr beat his man wide left in the third period, crashing to the ice directly in front of goalie Henrik Lundqvist. He put the puck into the net out of the ensuing scrum, but had the goal waved off.

“We had a gameplan to kind of work their [defensmen], take them wide, make them turn and get them tired out,” Fehr said. “And by the end they were definitely getting a little bit tired.”

The result was far fewer shots for the Caps, who had at least 35 on Lundqvist in each of the first four games, but finished with a series-low 21 on Friday. Even grinder Matt Bradley scored one of his two goals by beating a New York defender on the right wing and skating onto a pass floated ahead by teammate Brooks Laich. Yes, he needed Lundqvist to flub the save. But he still got to the puck first. If the Caps can do that again consistently they should come through a second straight elimination game and earn a Game 7 at home on Tuesday.

“Part of it also is us taking away being fancy, making sure we’re grinding,” Fehr said. “It’s really just about coming down hard and using our size and strength against them.”