Rangers/Capitals recap

The Rangers dropped a tough one to the Caps tonight by the score of 4-1.  The Rangers actually played pretty well, controlling most of the action after a quick Washington start.  They just ran into a hot goalie and some bad luck.  Washington clinched the 7th seed in the  East with the win, meaning the Rangers will take on the Ottawa Senators in the first round.  Onto the bullets…

1^st period

• The Caps struck quick with two goals in the first 2:18 of play.  Alex Ovechkin wired a shot through a tough screen right off the draw for a 1-0 lead, and Matthew Perreault deflected a shot from the point past Lundqvist for a 2-0 lead.
• The two goals seemed to wake the Rangers up a little bit.  They began to get more aggressive on the forecheck and creating some chances.  Braden Holtby had to make several key saves and Ryan Callahan blasted one off the post on a shorthanded chance.
• The Rangers began to take control of the puck possession and were aggressively pressuring Washington in all areas of the ice.  Things were starting to tilt towards the Rangers side of the ice.
• Brad Richards then proceeded to take a hooking penalty, which the Rangers successfully killed and generated Callahan’s aforementioned post.  Just as the penalty to Richards had expired, Ryan McDonagh chipped the puck directly into the crowd for a delay of game penalty.
• On the ensuing power play, John Carlson ripped a shot from the point, which glanced off Derek Stepan, and past Hank for a 3-0 Washington lead.
• Honestly, aside from something of a rough start defensively, the Rangers actually didn’t play that poorly.  They caught some bad breaks on deflections and screens. Read more »