Playoff Prescription: Round 2 Rangers vs. Capitals Game 1

Every year for the past three out of four years, it seems we always come back to this.

The Rangers and Caps are gearing up to face off once again this year to see who can out-muscle one-another to advance to the Conference Finals. Both teams knocked off their respected first round teams, and are looking to keep their string of good fortune rolling. But only one team will prevail.

The Rangers and Caps split a four game series this year. The Caps, who's wins in that series came the day before the All Star Break and the last day of the season, were in the game for the most part for their losses. However, the turbulence of the regular season has bumped them down to the seventh seed, with the Rangers have taken over their usual role as the first seed.



But, as we learned in the first round, seeding is only a number. History is not a factor. And experience is obtained every minute that clock ticks. Out of all of the teams that remain, the Rangers, Flyers, and Devils are the only teams with a past Stanley Cup, and no two seeds repeated themselves among the conferences. It is going to be a wild second round, no doubt about that.

Keys to Victory

Match the Caps' Physicality: One of the main reasons why I think the Caps won their series against the Boston Bruins was because of how well they matched physical play against them. The Bruins are notorious for being the intimidating team around the league, and the Caps did not waiver from that reputation. What the Rangers need to do in this game is establish that they are ready to do the same thing to the Caps. The Rangers need to show them who's boss in MSG, and that they are not going to back down when things get chippy.

Take Away the Neutral Zone: One of the things I liked most was the breaking up of plays at the blue line for the Rangers in Game 7. I can't recall how many times a poke check put the Senators offsides and killed their momentum. With danglers like Ovechkin and Backstrom, they are guaranteed to get a bit pretty with the puck. Lay that stick out their and make them work for the zone. No easy entrances given away tonight.

Prediction


The first game is always the feeling-out process by both teams. It won't take long because of the history between these two teams, but they will get each other felt out really quickly tonight, and then proceed to go off on one-anothers goalies. If the Rangers want to win tonight as well, they need to test Braden Holtby. We have seen two series where a sub-par goaltender has been the leader for the Caps, and this series should be where that all changes. It is going to be a down-to-the-wire game today, so don't miss a second of it.

Enjoy the game!