All four Eastern Conference playoff matchups are decided. The way it unfolded tonight was, to put it simply, pure chaos.
The Washington Capitals put the dagger through the heart of the Philadelphia Flyers with a 2-1 win in regulation, consequently eliminating the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins from the race in the final hour. What a battle we got to witness for the final two playoff spots in the east over the last two weeks, which saw teams that struggled to win consistently through the course of the season turn it on in the face of an early summer break, namely the Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders.
The first round of the playoffs will be as follows for the Eastern Conference:
(M1) New York Rangers vs (WC2) Washington Capitals
(A1) Florida Panthers vs (WC1) Tampa Bay Lightning
(M2) Carolina Hurricanes vs (M3) New York Islanders
(A2) Boston Bruins vs (A3) Toronto Maple Leafs
It was a wild sequence of events that set the group of 8 teams from the East that will go to the dance. The Flyers needed to win in regulation and Detroit to lose in regulation.
Detroit knotting their game up against Montreal with 3.3 seconds left eliminated the Flyers from contention, but that happened practically just as they were pulling their goalie in a tied game in an effort to save their season. The Capitals almost immediately scored on the empty net, courtesy of TJ Oshie, leading to a regulation win for Washington, thus eliminating Pittsburgh as well as Philadelphia. In one fell swoop, the hopes of four teams were reduced to just one, with Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals standing over the rubble.
So here we are. 82 games have come and gone for the Rangers and Capitals. Washington’s journey was, to put it nicely, much less straightforward than that of the Rangers, who won a franchise record setting 55 games and the President’s Trophy as the first place team in the league overall. Both journeys have led them to the same place. The 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Game one. Madison Square Garden.
The regular season series was split at two a piece between them, the home team winning every game, with all games being played before the trade deadline, which saw Washington subtract players while the Rangers added to their roster. The series went as follows:
12/9/23 WSH 4 vs NYR 0
12/27/23 NYR 5 vs WSH 1
1/13/24 WSH 3 vs NYR 2
1/14/24 NYR 2 vs WSH 1
Rangers regular season record:
55-23-4, 114 points
30-11-0 at home, 25-12-4 on the road
Capitals regular season record:
40-31-11, 91 points
22-12-7 at home, 18-19-4 on the road
The Rangers and Capitals have had many memorable playoff duels and moments. The first one that comes to mind for me, Derek Stepan’s overtime winner in 2015 to send his Rangers to the Conference Finals. Those moments, however, might as well have been a lifetime ago. The teams that will meet in playoff action this Sunday are practically unrecognizable from their last clash in 2015.
Chris Kreider is the only current Ranger to have played in that series, whereas the only Capitals to have participated were Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson. Nicklas Backstrom also played in the series, but is nearly certain to not return to the lineup due to injury.
The goalies last time were Henrik Lundqvist and Braden Holtby, both since retired. This time, Igor Shesterkin will face off against Charlie Lindgren, brother of trusted Rangers rearguard Ryan Lindgren. Ovechkin will face off against fellow elite Russian winger Artemi Panarin. Oshie and Jonathan Quick were teammates at the 2014 olympics, where they combined for one of, if not the most, memorable shootout performance in the history of the sport. All of these connections are now meaningless until a winner is determined. There will be no love lost on either bench. Expect the physical presence of Capitals Tom Wilson to be matched by Matt Rempe for the Rangers. There will be fireworks.
Artemi Panarin has 33 points in 32 career games against Washington, and Mika Zibanejad has 18 goals in 44 games against them, famously scoring five in one game in March 2020 prior to the pause brought on by the pandemic. Neither player has ever faced the Capitals in the playoffs.
Igor Shesterkin enters the matchup coming off a 4-0 shutout victory over Ottawa to clinch the President’s Trophy for his club, guaranteeing home ice advantage throughout the length of their playoff run. He finished the season with 36 wins, a .912 save percentage and 4 shutouts. Charlie Lindgren had a breakout season for the Capitals, arguably their most valuable player, and capped the campaign with his 25th win, to go with a .910 save percentage and 6 shutouts.
Panarin’s 49 goals, 71 assists and 120 points were tops for the Rangers in all three metrics, where as Ovechkin led the Capitals with 31 goals, John Carlson had the most assists with 42, and Dylan Strome was the leading point getter finishing with 67. Five players on the Rangers outscored Strome this year, including defenseman Adam Fox, who, despite missing 10 games, finished with 73 points, 17 of them being goals.
The Capitals rank bottom five in the league in goals for per game, shots on goal per game, and faceoff percentage. They have a middle of the road power play and penalty kill, ranking 17th and 18th respectively. In contrast, the Rangers rank 7th in goals for per game and faceoff percentage, and have the 3rd best power play and penalty kill league wide.
With that being said, let’s clear the air of the obvious. The Rangers have been the better team on paper all year long. That’ll happen when you win the President’s Trophy. The Capitals will not be taken lightly, however. First year bench boss Spencer Carberry has done an incredible job coaching this Capitals team into a playoff berth, and should be a Jack Adams Award finalist alongside Rangers coach Peter Laviolette for coach of the year. A testament to the work Carberry has done since losing Evgeny Kuznetsov and Anthony Mantha via trade at the deadline, this playoff berth will galvanize a hard working Capitals squad that took the 6th fewest penalty minutes per game this year, and will look to keep the Rangers lethal power play off the ice as much as possible.
It all kicks off Sunday afternoon at the world’s most famous arena, where 18,000 fans will file in, Baba O’Riley will play, John Brancy will sing the anthem, and the quest for the cup will be on. The Rangers have been dominant at home this year, and will look to ride their playoff long home ice advantage to a Stanley Cup, exactly 30 years since the franchise last stood atop the mountain. All four matchups in the East will be must watch television, with bad blood boiling in every series. Continue to check back with The Morning Skate all through April, May, and June, because we’re just getting started. Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for the good part.
The Morning Skate 