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| The four-game series was split with each team going 1-1 at home. (US Presswire) |
For the second consecutive year, the Rangers and Capitals have a date in the playoffs. Although this time the roles are reversed. Last year it was Washington that was the No. 1 seed and New York the low seed. That series was over in five games with the Caps moving on. So this playoff relationship isn't a new thing.
While the Rangers might know the team, these Caps are strangers to them. The old Caps would fly up and down the ice, or at least in the case of last year's team, still think offensively while trying to remain defensively responsible. This current edition of the Caps? No, they don't resemble the team the Rangers met last season at all, even if it does have mostly the same cast of characters.
Although they need only look in the mirror to who they're playing because this Washington team looks an awful lot like these Rangers. Both of these teams have some exceptional offensive talent but as a whole they both think defense first. They both are willing to block a lot shots. And, if Braden Holtby repeats his first-round performance, they are both getting excellent goaltending.
This isn't your typical 1 vs. 7 matchup. Washington has morphed into a pretty scary low seed and it should give New York all sorts of fits. This is a very tight pairing.
NYR Offense vs. WAS Defense
While the Rangers are still a defense-first team, they did have a much higher offensive output this season, finally giving Henrik Lundqvist some support. However they struggled to get the offense going in the first round against a Senators defense and goalie in Craig Anderson that aren't considered world beaters.
Washington has finally flipped its identity and leans on its defense, it's Dale Hunter Hockey 101. They block a lot of shots and keep a third man high, especially when they get a lead. Look how much they stymied the Bruins' offense, the second-best in the regular season.
WAS Offense vs. NYR Defense
The Capitals on offense still have a lot of the same guys who a few seasons were putting up monster point totals, so you know the talent is in them. Alexander Semin, for example, had a very good first round. But one thing Washington doesn't do is generate a lot of shots, electing to go for the better chances. Will New York give many of those up?
There are only two teams that were stingier than the Rangers this season -- and they're playing each other out West, St. Louis and L.A. I mentioned the Caps blocking shots but there is probably no team that does it better than the Rangers, it's part of what they pride themselves on.
Goaltending
This is still the unknown category here, well on side at least. The Rangers we know what they have going on and it is good. The Vezina and Hart finalist Lundqvist tends their nets and is without a doubt one of the very best in the game today. He is a good reason why the Rangers defense is so stingy.
The part that is still not locked down is on the Capitals end. Braden Holtby was excellent in the first round, no question. But I think a lot of people might be waiting for the other shoe to drop, he is a rookie after all. Will it? That's the question. If it doesn't, then the Caps remain in this series the whole way.
Special Teams
All season long the power play has been a trouble spot for the Rangers, they just never found a way to get it rolling, finishing 23rd in the league. The Capitals unit went through spurts this season but when the unit gets set up it can look awfully good. The power-play edge goes to Washington.
The Rangers do have a pretty significant advantage on the PK, at least when looking at what they did in the season. But Washington is tougher to read that way since they were evolving all season to what they are now. In the first round they held the Bruins to just two PP goals. But the Rangers' unit is probably still the better one despite not performing better in the first round.
Prediction
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