Caps Open Five-Game Trip in Manhattan
Caps face Rangers for second time in as many games - and fourth in last six - to kick off an eight-day trip
The Caps open up a five-game road trip that will play out in the three New York metro area NHL arenas over the next eight days, starting with a Tuesday night tilt against the New York Rangers in Manhattan. The trip opener finishes off a home-and-home set between the Caps and the Blueshirts, as Washington concluded its six-game homestand with a 5-4 victory over the Rangers on Sunday afternoon.
Washington went 5-1-0 on its homestand, and a 3-1 loss to the Rangers on March 20 was the lone blemish on its extended home stay. The Caps took two of three from the Rangers on the homestand, but with three games remaining in the season's series between the two teams - all of them in New York - the Blueshirts hold the edge with three wins in five games. The Rangers are the only opponent against which Washington does not own a winning record this season.
Entering Sunday's game with the Rangers, the Caps had scored a combined total of six goals in four games against New York this season, so it was no surprise when Sunday's contest remained 0-0 heading into the back half of the middle period. But things got wild thereafter, with the Caps scoring four straight goals at one point, and the Rangers rallying back from 4-0 and 5-2 deficits to close within a goal late.
"There were a couple of different ways we scored some goals there," says Caps right wing T.J. Oshie, who had three points (one goal, two assists) in Sunday's win. "A couple of them - and one thing that we've focused on quite a bit this year and something we're still trying to grow - is getting guys to the front of the net, whether that's driving the net off the rush or just being in front. Both of Tom [Wilson's] goals, my goal; a tip with [Alex Ovechkin] doing a great job of screening the front and almost blocked out their whole team from being able to get to the far side of the net so that I was able to tip it.
"Things are just kind of clicking right now. Obviously we're missing Lars [Eller], but some of the big dogs are really carrying us. [Evgeny Kuznetsov] is playing fantastic for us, he is creating a lot of offense. [Ovechkin], obviously you see what he is doing. Tommy, Nick [Backstrom] and the guys on the back end. We're finding the net right now and it feels good. There are some other areas we can definitely clean up, but it feels nice getting some pucks into the net for team confidence and personal confidence."
While the Caps weren't pleased at surrendering four goals in the third period to the Rangers on Sunday, they're happy to pick up the two points, something they've done with regularity recently. Since a four-game slide to start the month of February, Washington has been on a sustained roll. The Capitals are now 17-3-1 in their last 21 games, a stretch that spans nearly 40 percent of the entire regular season schedule.
"Points are hard to come by, especially in this tight division," says Caps right wing Garnet Hathaway. "And two points mean four points, especially against a Rangers team that has been playing really good hockey lately and climbing up the standings.
"I don't think they're going to slow down in the second half of the season, they've been coming pretty fast. We had some bad bounces and they pushed back in the third, and they got a couple of goals that I think I wish we had back, but we stuck with it and got the points."
Washington was pleased with its overall game in five of its last six periods against the Rangers, including the aforementioned 3-1 loss to them on March 20. Those five strong periods against them could provide a blueprint for the three remaining games against New York, starting with Tuesday's tilt in Manhattan.
"We're going right back to playing against the same system we just played against," says Hathaway. "It's four out of the last six games, is what we're going to see.
"Especially for a noon game [on Sunday]," I thought we stepped up and our speed was there right from the start. It's a tight team, they're a quick team and they close well defensively, so once we can wear them down - down low - like we did in the first and second periods, that's when we get more opportunities. I thought we tracked back; I didn't think they had a lot of odd-man rushes for the speed that they have. And I thought we did a lot of good stuff coming out of their zone to protect our [defensive] zone."
The Caps are in the midst of a stretch in which they play 11 games in 22 days, all against the three New York teams. The run began with the recent homestand and will conclude with this five-game trip to the New York City area.
With Sunday's loss to the Capitals, the Rangers were saddled with successive setbacks for the first time since enduring a three-game slide from March 7-11. New York went 5-1-1 in between, and they sit in sixth place in the East Division, five points behind Boston for the fourth and final playoff berth in the division. The Bruins also hold three games in hand on the Blueshirts, who only have two games remaining against Boston, the final two contests of the season.
