NHL Playoffs: (2) Washington v (7) NY Rangers
NHL Eastern Conference Quarter Final Preview: Capitals v Rangers
Apr 14, 2009 Sebastian Egerton-Read
Alexander Ovechkin has led the young and vibrant Washington Capitals back for another shot in the post-season after a disappointing first round exit in 2008. This time they face an offensively challenged but defensively resilient New York Rangers team led by standout goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. The Capitals scored the second most goals in the East, but of the playoff teams only the Montreal Canadiens conceded more. They face a Rangers team that scored just 206 goals (only the Islanders had fewer in the Conference) but allowed the sixth fewest goals in the league. Washington won the regular season series 3-0-1 with the latest match up a 5-4 overtime victory for New York back in February.
Washington Capitals Summary
The Washington Capitals built on their success in 07/08 controlling the Southeast division from start to finish, largely due to a high-powered offense led by the ever-impressive Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin got off to an extremely slow start scoring just 2 goals in his first 12 games, but was on fire for the rest of the year finishing with 56 goals (1st in NHL) and 110 points (2nd in NHL). He is undoubtedly the leader of this Capitals outfit and they will need him to be at the very top of his game if they are to advance. However, this year’s team is not totally reliant on Ovechkin with both Nicklas Backstrom (88pts) and Alex Semin (79pts) scoring at over a point per game clip. Defenseman Mike Green enjoyed a superb season, he scored 31 goals and 73 points to lead all defensemen in both categories putting him very much in Norris Trophy contention. Green also led all Capitals defensemen in time on ice per game with 25:45 minutes. Washington’s main question mark will be in net where Jose Theodore has failed to impress with a .900 save percentage, if Theodore doesn’t step up his performance Washington could face an early exit.
Capitals Key Players
Alex Ovechkin- Ovechkin is an obvious choice simply because not only does the team rely on him offensively, but they feed off of his energy and drive.
Mike Green- Green has enjoyed an exceptional season offensively but it may well be his defensive play that is more crucial in the tighter play of the playoff matches. Playing over 25 minutes a nice, Green must be solid in his own end to effectively lead the Capitals defense.
Alex Semin- The ‘other Alex’, it’s easy to forget just how skilled Semin is, but he possesses just as much game-breaking offensive talent as Ovechkin, demonstrated by his 79 points in just 62 games this season. With the top defensive players watching Ovechkin, Semin will need to take advantage.
New York Rangers Summary
New York has had another up and down season after another busy, high-spending off-season but they do find themselves in the playoffs and with a potentially dangerous team. Tom Renney’s tenure as Rangers head coach was brought to an end after a poor run of form threatened the team’s playoff hopes, John Tortorella stepped in and led them to a solid 12-7-2 to close out the season. Henrik Lundqvist is widely accepted as the team’s star player and while he didn’t put up league leading numbers this season, he was once again a reliable presence throughout the year making 70 appearances. The Rangers have a solid top six defensive group playing in front of Lundqvist, young defensemen Marc Staal and Dan Girardi continue to impress while veterans Wade Redden, Derek Morris, Michal Rozsival and Paul Mara provide solid play at both ends of the rink. Offense is the main concern for Tortorella’s team as they struggled for goals in spite of possessing some big name forwards. No player reached 30 goals or 60 points, with the team’s top scorer Nik Antropov (59pts) being a deadline acquisition. Scott Gomez, Nikolai Zherdev, Markus Naslund, Chris Drury all has scoring talent but the team has lacked a consistent scorer for the majority of the season.
Rangers Key Players
Chris Drury- Drury is the team’s Captain and is well known for his clutch scoring, New York won’t want a high-scoring series so whether or not Drury’s statistics look good or not is irrelevant, his performance will be judged on the relevance of the goals he does score.
Wade Redden- Redden has not been popular in his first season on Broadway with some inconsistent play, he is being paid to be the team’s #1 defenseman and in the playoffs his contributions will become even more crucial, time for him to step it up.
Sean Avery- Avery rarely stays away from the headlines and this season has been no different. Avery is a very good player when he just plays his game, he can either be one of the Rangers best assets or he actions could end up being to their detriment.
Washington v New York Verdict
This series is fascinating because it is very much a series of opposites; a top offensive team playing a top defensive team, a strong power-play matched up against a strong penalty kill, a top forward against a top goaltender. The Capitals and Rangers have opposite strengths and weaknesses but in this case Washington’s defensive frailty particularly in net will be their undoing.
New York Rangers in six.
Washington v Rangers
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