WASHINGTON It took all of one playoff game for Washington coach Bruce Boudreau to wonder aloud about switching goalies, going from a past NHL MVP to a rookie.

"There's a chance anything could happen," Boudreau said. "When you lose, you make changes."

This much was clear to everyone after the Rangers beat the Capitals 4-3 in Game 1 of their first-round Eastern Conference series Wednesday night: New York goalie Henrik Lundqvist outplayed Washington's Jose Theodore.

And Theodore was the first to acknowledge that.

"I'm not happy with my game," the 2002 league MVP said. "Just wasn't good enough."

His coach's take?

"He's right," Boudreau said.

Did Boudreau consider making a change after Theodore allowed three goals in the second period?

"You never want to look like you're panicking," last season's NHL coach of the year said, "and that's what that would have looked like."

So Simeon Varlamov, he of six career NHL appearances, stayed on the bench, and Theodore stayed in and allowed Brandon Dubinsky to score the winning goal with 8:17 remaining. Dubinsky took a pass from Markus Naslund, made a move that left defenseman Jeff Schultz sprawled on the ice and sent a shot over Theodore's glove.

Lundqvist made 32 saves including holding Alex Ovechkin without a goal. The league's leading goal-scorer each of the last two seasons took 13 shots.

Devils 4, Hurricanes 1At Newark, N.J., Martin Brodeur made 18 saves, and Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner each had a goal and an assist for the Devils.Brodeur, who set the regular-season record for NHL career wins last month, came within 11 minutes of tying Patrick Roy's record for career playoff shutouts at 23 before Ray Whitney scored on a rebound.

Canucks 2, Blues 1At Vancouver, British Columbia, Daniel Sedin had a goal and an assist, and Roberto Luongo made 25 saves for the Canucks.