NEW YORK -- The Washington Capitals know they probably need to play near perfect to upset the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference First Round.
The Capitals stumbled repeatedly in their first attempt to walk that tightrope, losing 4-1 in Game 1 of the best-of-7 series at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
The Rangers scoring three times during a stretch of 2:06 in the second period to break open a 0-0 game stood out the most. But there are multiple areas they’ll need to improve in Game 2 on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, ESPN, MSG, SNW, SNO, SNE, TVAS) to have a chance to even the series.
“It’s nothing we didn’t expect, nothing we haven’t talked about,” Capitals defenseman John Carlson said. “We have a chance to play a lot better, and I think for us, just regroup and put our heads down and get back to work like we always have.”
There is plenty to work on, beginning with generating more offensive-zone time and more shots on goalie Igor Shesterkin.
Generating offense has been issue for Washington all season. The Capitals ranked 28th in the NHL in goals per game with 2.63 and 30th averaging 26.5 shots on goal.
Coach Spencer Carbery said before the series that “averaging 22-23 shots a game” wouldn’t be good enough. The Capitals had 21 shots on goal in Game 1.
“We can get more pucks to the net, for sure,” said forward Tom Wilson, who set up defenseman Martin Fehervary’s deflection at 7:31 of the second period that got Washington within 3-1. “It’s not always just about shots. We had some decent looks offensively, but we’ve got to get to the net a little bit more.”
Washington went 13:09 without a shot on goal during one stretch in the first period and then went the opening 12:16 of the third period without a shot, too. They were still in the game at that point, trailing 3-1, but Shesterkin had a relatively easy third, facing only six shots.
Forward Aliaksei Protas had six of Washington’s shots on goal. Carlson had five. Forward Alex Ovechkin had seven shot attempts, including five that were blocked, but was held without a shot on goal for only the fourth time in 148 Stanley Cup Playoff games during his 19 NHL seasons.
“Yeah, we’ve got to do a way better job offensively,” Carbery said. “It’s no secret we’ve struggled all year, but we’ve got to find ways to create more on the interior. We’ve got to skate out of pressure. We’ve got to keep pucks off the yellow. We continually just rim pucks around. We’ve got to do a better job offensively.”
The Capitals are facing a tall order in this series. The Rangers won the Presidents’ Trophy by leading the NHL while setting team-records with 55 wins and 114 points. The Capitals had 91 points (40-31-11) and didn’t clinch the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference until a 2-1 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers in their regular-season finale on April 16.
The Capitals were able to overcome their scoring struggles during the regular season with great goaltending from Charlie Lindgren, playing tight defensively, scoring timely goals and a resurgent power play that was first in the NHL at 29.3 percent after Jan. 26. They didn’t get enough of any of that Sunday, though.
In his first NHL playoff appearance, Lindgren was the victim of breakdowns in front of him, allowing four goals on 31 shots. He was unable to stop the bleeding during a three-goal surge when Matt Rempe scored from in front at 4:17 of the second, Artemi Panarin converted on a 2-on-1 at 4:50, and Jimmy Vesey scored off a face-off play at 6:23.
Already stretched thin on defense because of upper-body injuries to Rasmus Sandin and Nick Jensen, the Capitals lost defenseman Vincent Iorio, who was also making his playoff debut, to an upper-body injury after a hard hit into the boards from Alexis Lafreniere that caused the turnover leading to Panarin’s goal.
The power play sputtered, going 0-for-4 with only three shots on goal. The Capitals failed to capitalize on two power plays in the first period when an early goal could’ve made a difference. Then, they didn’t manage a shot on goal on two power plays when they were trailing 3-1.
“Our power play has been one of the big reasons why we’re here right now,” Carlson said. “So, we did have some opportunities. The first period, you’d probably take those out, but the other ones, you’ve got to make some hay with them. That’s been a big formula for us.”
Washington has been resilient all season, bouncing back numerous times when their outlook looked dim. They’ll have to do it again after falling well short in Game 1 of the standard they’ll need to meet to succeed against the Rangers.
“We all understand it’s a playoff game,” Ovechkin said. “Everybody has to play much better. So, forget about this one and move forward.”
