Exhale.
Wow. We knew the Capitals would come back with some fire tonight. That was a fourth of July fireworks display. The key for the Rangers, however, is that they outshined them on the scoresheet.
It was a game that personified NHL playoff hockey. We can sit here and argue what was dirty and what wasn’t, but if I start that game, it won’t end until the cup is raised, regardless of who lifts it.
What I can tell you with certainty is this; TJ Oshie hit the fuck around button tonight. Naturally, he found out.
I present, and this is just scratching the surface, Exhibit A:
Let’s find out in Exhibit B:
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the goal column, which the road team opened up tonight. You’ve heard of Connor McDavid… but tonight, the Rangers learned about Connor McMichael. I’ve been waiting to make some sort of joke about his name for a while, maybe I’ll have a better one another time. McMichael pounced on a loose puck just over five minutes into the game, and gave pause to a raucous home crowd. 1-0 Washington.
Luckily for the Rangers’ faithful, the lead was short lived. Roughly two minutes later, Vinny Trocheck deflected a northbound pass from Erik Gustafsson past Charlie Lindgren to knot the game at one a piece.
The Rangers would head to their first power play of the night courtesy of a Nic Aube-Kubel hook, and for the first time in the postseason, they would cash in.
Zibanejad’s power play bomb would be his first goal of the playoffs, and give the Rangers the lead for the remainder of the opening frame.
Period two would bring a power play opportunity for the Capitals, and their man advantage unit, which has been feared for the better part of a decade, would go to work. Tom Wilson drove down the right side to Shesterkin’s kitchen and slid one through the crease to Dylan Strome, who made no mistake. Power play marker for Washington, game tied at two.
If you got the idea special teams wouldn’t be a huge factor in the series following game one, I won’t be taking betting advice from you anytime in the near future.
John Carlson, the workhorse on the back end for Washington, would sit for two following a cross check. Gustafsson, who wore Capitals colors last season, would collect his second primary assist of the night on the resulting power play, as Jack Roslovic cashed in on his first career playoff goal.
With the lead back in hand, the Rangers continued their march to the third period in search of the 2-0 series lead. Gustafsson almost gave one back to his former team, however, when he lifted the puck out of the defensive end and straight over the glass. He would sit for a delay of game minor.
With the Caps back on the man advantage, the Rangers penalty kill would continue to generate offense, as they had all night. Zibanejad pounced on a puck mishandled by Ovechkin, found Chris Kreider cross ice on the rush, Kreider sent it back to Zibanejad, and he would drop it back to K’Andre Miller for a blast. Charlie Lindgren couldn’t track it, and it would give the Rangers the first two goal lead of the night.
That would close out the third period, and with twenty minutes to go, the Rangers looked more than hungry to double their series lead.
The special teams units would not cease their heavy involvement, and as the third period rolled on, Washington’s power play had at least one more rebuttal. Hendrix Lapierre would fire a shot into a jam packed crease in front of Shesterkin, and Wilson’s redirect would guide it past the Rangers’ net minder.
It wouldn’t be enough for the Capitals tonight, however, as the Rangers would fight to the final buzzer against the six on five Washington advantage with Lindgren on the bench, once again holding Alex Ovechkin out of the goal column.
The Rangers showed some chinks in the armor in terms of defense, letting more action than they would like pass through their crease. They generated enough offense as far as opportunities go, but Lindgren played a spectacular game in goal for his Capitals squad, and some more time with the video coach analyzing his weaknesses could go a long way for the Rangers.
All in all, a win is a win is a win. The Rangers snag the 2-0 series lead at home, and set their sights on two games in our nation’s capital, with hopes of closing out a series before they return home. A gutsy effort from both teams tonight showed that the Rangers are willing to go beyond the extra mile to check off another win.
Now, it’s time to see how they respond in hostile territory. I mentioned in my series preview that the home team had won every game of the regular season series between these two teams, and the playoff series has followed that trend to this point. Time to break that trend without the help of the Garden crowd.
For what it’s worth, the Knicks took the 2-0 series lead in their first round battle with the 76ers last night at the garden, and both teams are hitting the road undefeated at home. Tonight is our night, though, with the Rempire State Building lit up in Rangers red, white, and blue.
Both teams will get an extra day’s rest before the next game as the Rangers travel down to D.C. Game 3 will kick off the night of NHL action at 7:00 pm on Friday night. Until then, enjoy the rest of the week, and practice breathing exercises whenever you get some free time. The weekend will present an opportunity to put the desperate Capitals in a sleeper hold. Let’s fucking go, Rangers.
The Morning Skate 