New York Rangers at Washington Capitals (-109, 5)
It wasn’t supposed to be this difficult for the Rangers. They were the East’s No. 1 seed and just missed out on the Presidents’ Trophy on the last night of the regular season.
To face a No. 8 seed in the first round and a No. 7 in the second was going to be a breeze, many assumed. Well, either New York isn’t as advertised or the Eastern Conference is tougher than most thought.
Nothing is coming easy for the Rangers. The Capitals are making sure of it.
Gaborik has a game
New York has depth and can throw plenty of scoring options at you. But without question, the Rangers will not win a Stanley Cup without the “A” game of forward Marian Gaborik. He's the star, whether he likes it or not, and he needs to start playing like it.
Perhaps he's on his way. His second goal of the postseason ended the Game 3 marathon Wednesday night and gave the Rangers a 2-1 win, and a 2-1 lead in the series.
It was clearly Gaborik's best effort of the postseason. Granted, it almost reached six full periods of play. But the veteran, who had 41 goals and 76 points in the regular season, also had an assist, a block and finished with seven shots on net.
That needs to keep up, especially the latter. Gaborik must keep firing shots. It helps his confidence and gives his linemates rebound opportunities.
Team tough
The Capitals' postseason run will go a long way toward diffusing the notion that this team isn't tough.
Win or lose in this series and beyond, coach Dale Hunter's crew has established itself as one difficult out. Not unlike Tampa Bay last year -- the Lightning infused the Left Wing Lock system under coach Guy Boucher, changed the team's identity, and frustrated teams all the way to the conference finals -- Washington has shed the "soft" label.
The Capitals have three forwards, Matt Hendricks (49), Alex Ovechkin (45) and Troy Brouwer (32), who have topped 30 hits this postseason and there are three more who have reached at least 20.
Washington has 94 minutes in penalties, led by forward Nicklas Backstrom (16), but Hunter has faith in his penalty-kill unit and the minutes really haven't cost the Caps yet.
The Rangers and Bruins, whom the Capitals eliminated in seven games in Round 1, can bang bodies around too. And, pound for pound, those two clubs have more talent than Washington. But this team has not gone away yet, and it has a lot to do with their fight.
Waiting on Dubinsky
New York forward Brandon Dubinsky, who had 10 goals and 34 points in the regular season, has been limited by a leg injury in the playoffs and his absence is evident. He didn't have the best statistical year of his career, but he’s among the Rangers' blue-collar forwards who do a little bit of everything.
He has just one point in seven playoff games and is a plus-2. He was seen walking with the aid of crutches earlier this week, but he’s with the team in Washington, so you never know when he might return. It is, after all, the playoffs and injury news is hazy.
Dubinsky had two shots on goal and two penalty minutes in New York’s 2-1 Game 7 win over Ottawa, but hasn’t seen the ice since.
History
New York has won four of its last five overall and seven of the last nine road games. Washington has won six of the last seven Saturday games, but has dropped seven of the last eight in Eastern Conference semifinal play. How’s this for playoff hockey: The Rangers are riding a nine-game overless streak (0-5-4).
It wasn’t supposed to be this difficult for the Rangers. They were the East’s No. 1 seed and just missed out on the Presidents’ Trophy on the last night of the regular season.
To face a No. 8 seed in the first round and a No. 7 in the second was going to be a breeze, many assumed. Well, either New York isn’t as advertised or the Eastern Conference is tougher than most thought.
Nothing is coming easy for the Rangers. The Capitals are making sure of it.
Gaborik has a game
New York has depth and can throw plenty of scoring options at you. But without question, the Rangers will not win a Stanley Cup without the “A” game of forward Marian Gaborik. He's the star, whether he likes it or not, and he needs to start playing like it.
Perhaps he's on his way. His second goal of the postseason ended the Game 3 marathon Wednesday night and gave the Rangers a 2-1 win, and a 2-1 lead in the series.
It was clearly Gaborik's best effort of the postseason. Granted, it almost reached six full periods of play. But the veteran, who had 41 goals and 76 points in the regular season, also had an assist, a block and finished with seven shots on net.
That needs to keep up, especially the latter. Gaborik must keep firing shots. It helps his confidence and gives his linemates rebound opportunities.
Team tough
The Capitals' postseason run will go a long way toward diffusing the notion that this team isn't tough.
Win or lose in this series and beyond, coach Dale Hunter's crew has established itself as one difficult out. Not unlike Tampa Bay last year -- the Lightning infused the Left Wing Lock system under coach Guy Boucher, changed the team's identity, and frustrated teams all the way to the conference finals -- Washington has shed the "soft" label.
The Capitals have three forwards, Matt Hendricks (49), Alex Ovechkin (45) and Troy Brouwer (32), who have topped 30 hits this postseason and there are three more who have reached at least 20.
Washington has 94 minutes in penalties, led by forward Nicklas Backstrom (16), but Hunter has faith in his penalty-kill unit and the minutes really haven't cost the Caps yet.
The Rangers and Bruins, whom the Capitals eliminated in seven games in Round 1, can bang bodies around too. And, pound for pound, those two clubs have more talent than Washington. But this team has not gone away yet, and it has a lot to do with their fight.
Waiting on Dubinsky
New York forward Brandon Dubinsky, who had 10 goals and 34 points in the regular season, has been limited by a leg injury in the playoffs and his absence is evident. He didn't have the best statistical year of his career, but he’s among the Rangers' blue-collar forwards who do a little bit of everything.
He has just one point in seven playoff games and is a plus-2. He was seen walking with the aid of crutches earlier this week, but he’s with the team in Washington, so you never know when he might return. It is, after all, the playoffs and injury news is hazy.
Dubinsky had two shots on goal and two penalty minutes in New York’s 2-1 Game 7 win over Ottawa, but hasn’t seen the ice since.
History
New York has won four of its last five overall and seven of the last nine road games. Washington has won six of the last seven Saturday games, but has dropped seven of the last eight in Eastern Conference semifinal play. How’s this for playoff hockey: The Rangers are riding a nine-game overless streak (0-5-4).
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