STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS : Up Close, Richter Saves 4-3 Victory for Rangers

Undeterred by Kevin Hatcher’s fluke, 140-foot goal earlier in the first period, New York Ranger goalie Mike Richter stopped Hatcher’s screened shot from much closer in with 15 seconds to play Monday to preserve a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals and send the Rangers to the NHL Eastern Conference finals.

The Rangers beat Washington, 4-1, in the best-of-seven series after sweeping the New York Islanders in the first round.

“Those kinds of things happen,” said Ranger forward Adam Graves, who scored two goals, of Richter’s first-period lapse. “We didn’t think anything about it. We didn’t say anything in the dressing room. We just went out and worked hard.”

The work paid off for New York, which had the NHL’s best regular-season record.

Among the hardest workers was Brian Leetch, who scored the game-winning goal with 3:28 to play to cap a four-point night.

Leetch, who set up the Rangers’ first three goals, all in the first period, broke a 3-3 tie when he took a pass in the slot from Sergei Zubov and beat Rick Tabaracci with a forehand shot.

“I had to get the puck to settle down,” Leetch said. “There was an opening. I had to be patient, and I went in and found a shot.”

It was the first goal scored against Tabaracci, who had made 24 consecutive saves in relief of starter Don Beaupre.

The Rangers advanced to the conference finals for the first time since 1986.

New Jersey 2, Boston 0--In the Devils’ biggest game of the season, Coach Jacques Lemaire gambled with a couple of lineup changes, including inserting Martin Brodeur at goaltender. Brodeur stopped 22 shots in shutting out the Bruins at East Rutherford, N.J., pushing them to the brink of elimination.

Corey Millen and Bob Carpenter scored in the second period as New Jersey took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference semifinal series in which visitors had won every game until Monday.

Brodeur had four point-blank stops, including two in the first period.