NEW YORK — No one — not even Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau — could have imagined Madison Square Garden getting this quiet.

Jason Chimera silenced “The World’s Most Famous Arena” when he scored 12:36 into the second overtime and finished off the Capitals’ stunning 4-3 victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday night.

Washington trailed 3-0 heading into the third period but stormed back to tie it and set up Chimera’s winner. With a 3-1 series lead, the top-seeded Capitals can eliminate the eighth-seeded Rangers in Game 5 on Saturday. Washington has earned two of its three series wins in overtime, including a 2-1 victory in Game 1.

“That was a fabulous hockey game, two warrior teams going at it and leaving nothing,” Boudreau said. “This has been a hell of a series so far. I don’t anticipate anything different on Saturday.”

Those words from Boudreau took quite a different tone than those he uttered after the Rangers’ 3-2 win in Game 3 on Sunday.

Boudreau incurred the wrath of insulted Rangers fans, who fired back after Washington’s bench boss said the Garden wasn’t any louder than Washington’s home rink, that its locker rooms and benches were “horrible,” and that the reputation of the famed arena was much better than the actual building.

Fans yelled disparaging remarks at Boudreau, chanted “BOOOOD-REAU!” and then yelled in unison, “Can you hear us?” when the Rangers took over in the second period.

He surely could, but the silence at the end stood out even more.

“I might have made a mistake by saying what I said,” Boudreau said. “Let’s leave it at that. Let’s let the players decide this and not worry about how I felt or what the crowd felt like.”

Chimera took a shot from near the right circle that was blocked in front. Rangers forward Marian Gaborik raced in and tried to clear the puck out of the crease but swept it right to Chimera.

“It hit my chest and went down,” Chimera said. “It felt like forever until it went down to my stick. It was a good effort by us in the third period and what a comeback.

“There was no quit. Once we got one, we felt them sit back a bit. We took advantage of it.”

Henrik Lundqvist seemed poised to freeze the puck before Gaborik poked it away. Lundqvist doubled over and stayed down on his knees as teammates skated slowly toward him. At the other end, the Capitals stormed off the bench and gathered in celebration with winning goalie Michal Neuvirth, who made 36 saves.

“Right now it is painful,” Lundqvist said. “It is just unfortunate to have that in overtime.”

Alexander Semin started Washington’s rally, and Marcus Johansson scored twice in the third to make it 3-3.

The Rangers built their big lead on a goal by Artem Anisimov and tallies just 7 seconds apart by Gaborik and Brandon Dubinsky. Lundqvist was the hard-luck loser after making 49 saves.

New York was the only NHL team this season to be perfect when leading after two periods (29-0), but none of that matters now.

“We looked nervous,” Rangers coach John Tortorella said. “We felt better once we got through (the third period) and got to overtime. We still had chances we didn’t make. We got beat by a goal that is a nothing goal.

“It is just a nothing play that turns into something — obviously something big.”

Also on Wednesday:

Sabres 1

Flyers 0

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Ryan Miller made 32 saves for his second shutout of the playoffs and Buffalo beat Philadelphia to even the first-round playoff series 2-2. The series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 5 on Friday night.

Ducks 6

Predators 3

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Corey Perry’s short-handed goal at 1:17 of the third period put Anaheim ahead to stay and the Ducks beat Nashville to tie the first-round series 2-2. Game 5 is Friday night in Anaheim, with Ducks forward Bobby Ryan set to return from a two-game suspension.

Penguins 3

Lightning 2

TAMPA, Fla. — James Neal scored 3:38 into the second overtime to give Pittsburgh a victory over Tampa Bay in Game 4 of its first-round playoff series. Game 5 is Saturday in Pittsburgh, with the Lightning needing a victory to keep their turnaround season alive.

Red Wings 6

Coyotes 3

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Danny Cleary scored from a tough angle with just over six minutes left, and Detroit swept Phoenix out of the playoffs and possibly out of the desert with a victory. The whiteout from Game 3 was more of a dusting, though Jobing.com was just as juiced.