The King is Dead.
Well not exactly, but after 200+ minutes of failing to score a goal on Henrik Lundqvist, dating back to game 5 of last season’s playoffs, the Washington Capitals erupted for four goals to beat the $59.5M goaltender and his Rangers squad, 4-1, at Madison Square Garden.
This game was not close after the first 10 minutes as Washington continued it’s improved play and dominated the Rags from the mid point of the first period on. The Caps moved the puck really well from the back end and it resulted in several good chances on King Henrik. Washington totally outworked New York in this one, something that the Blueshirts typically pride themselves on doing. But the Caps had too much speed for a slow Rangers D that is now without Marc Staal and add in the hard work of guys like Jason Chimera and Joel Ward and it was the perfect recipe for a butt whipping of New York.
Chimera, Steve Oleksy, Mikhail Grabovski (penalty shot), and Nate Schmidt all tallied before Benoit Pouliot finally deflected the biscuit by Philipp Grubauer with 1:53 to go. Grubauer, who got the nod from Coach Adam Oates to give Braden Holtby a rest (Michal Neuvirth is injured), was excellent in gaining his first NHL win. He made a big save on Ryan Callahan’s backhander early in the contest then did his job as the Caps repeatedly owned the puck and kept any Rangers pressure to the outside.
It was a thorough team win and the Capitals dominated the Rangers, showing that they are improving as a puck possession club. To me that all starts from the back end and the addition of Dmitry Orlov to the defensive rotation has certainly made a difference. Oleksy fared well in his first game in several weeks too.
Credit Oates for inserting Grubauer and Oleksy after a win on Saturday. Both the Rangers and Capitals were in action Saturday with Washington having to travel to the Big Apple after they defeated the Predators while the Rangers played at their barn again. But the Caps had more energy and they used that along with their speed to put New York on its heels. Washington could have been up 6 or 7 pucks if not for some stellar glove saves by Lundqvist along with some assistance from the post.
The Caps were that good in this one in an important Metropolitan Division matchup. They improve to 16-12-2 (34 points) and now own a three point lead in second place over the Rangers and Carolina, who each have 31 points.
It was a win on the road against a club they’ve struggled with in recent times.
To me, that’s a statement victory.
Notes: John Carlson led the Caps in ice time at 23:57…the Caps out shot New York 36-31…both teams went 0 for 2 on the power play…Next up for the Caps are the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at the Verizon Center.
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