The Washington Capitals have looked like a team which barely qualified for the playoffs in the first round of this 2024 Stanley Cup Playoff. The Presidents’ Trophy-winning New York Rangers are on the verge of sweeping the Capitals Sunday evening. The Rangers have dominated at nearly every stage of the series so far. Here at Last Word, we will comment on all the playoff first-round series at their mid-points. The Capitals have already extended their season three games longer than scheduled. Sunday’s Game 4 could be their last gasp of the 2023-24 season. The League’s top team has held a lead on the scoreboard for a third of the series so far and held Washington’s top three regular-season scorers to three points combined. Here’s a look at the Rangers vs Capitals series review so far.
Rangers vs Capitals Review
Ahead of Game 4, Penalties Have Been Huge in This Series
Aside from Game 2 of the Carolina Hurricanes–New York Islanders series which saw 126 combined penalty minutes, the Rangers-Capitals series has been the most-penalized in the Eastern Conference. In 180 total minutes of play, there have been 92 penalty minutes assessed overall. This was mostly expected from a series that features both Tom Wilson and Matt Rempe. Wilson finished with 133 penalty minutes in 74 games this season, which was third in the league. Rempe didn’t join the NHL until mid-February but amassed 12 penalties worth 71 minutes in his 17 games for an average of 4:10 penalty minutes per game.
Rempe has taken one minor penalty in each game of the series, including the first call of the series: a charging call against Beck Malenstyn just over two minutes into Game 1. Wilson took a misconduct in the opening game and has had two additional minors. Defenders Dylan McIlrath of Washington and Braden Schneider of New York also received misconducts in the first game.
The Rangers have scored on a quarter of their power play opportunities. They have also notched two shorthanded goals. New York is the only team to record any shorthanded goals yet in the playoffs. The Capitals have the fourth-worst power play success rate of any playoff team. They didn’t score on any of their six chances in Game 3.
Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette said after Game 3 that he “has thoughts” about the quality of refereeing in the series. He declined to elaborate on what those thoughts were. Washington was quite a bit more forthcoming with their feelings. After defender Trevor van Riemsdyk was injured on a hit by Rempe, forward Nic Dowd called it a “dirty hit” in his postgame availability. “I think a player took advantage of a vulnerable player in a vulnerable spot,” Dowd continued. Rempe was penalized for interference on the play. Wilson believes he would have been ejected from the game if he’d laid a similar hit.
New York Has Varied Scoring Contributions
The Rangers have scored 11 goals in the series. Only two players have scored more than once; nine different skaters have scored for New York. Artemi Panarin, who led the Rangers with 49 goals in the regular season, has only gotten past Charlie Lindgren once. Vincent Trochek has scored twice and added three assists. His five points are tied with Mika Zibanejad (1G-4A) for the team’s playoff points lead. Chris Kreider also has two goals.
As previously mentioned, the Rangers have scored two shorthanded goals. Defender K’Andre Miller, who had only eight even strength goals in the regular season, scored his first career shorthanded goal in Game 2. Barclay Goodrow scored the other. It was his first goal in over three weeks.
Miller is one of four defenders to record a point in the series. Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox both have an assist each. Erik Gustafsson has two assists.
Defensive Injuries are Draining the Capitals
The Capitals entered the playoffs already missing two major defencemen in Rasmus Sandin and Nick Jensen. In their absence, Washington recalled Dylan McIlrath, Vincent Iorio and Lucas Johansen from the AHL’s Hershey Bears. McIlrath is a 10-year pro, but Iorio and Johansen both made their playoff debuts. John Carlson has played over 27 minutes in each game due to the injuries and inexperience on the rest of the defensive rotation.
The Washington blueline hasn’t caught a break now that the playoffs are underway. Iorio was hurt in Game 2 and only took three shifts. He hasn’t skated since Tuesday. With van Riemsdyk injured as well, Hardy HamanAktell might play in Game 4 unless Sandin or Jensen have recovered. Haman Aktell averaged just over 10 and a half minutes of ice time in only six games of NHL experience. He has never played a playoff game in North America.
There is only one defender left on an NHL contract who the Capitals could recall from Hershey. Chase Priskie is a right-handed defenceman. He led the Bears in points by defencemen (8G – 26A — 34P) in their record-setting regular season.
This Series Might End on Sunday
If both teams continue the patterns of the first three games, Washington’s season will end Sunday evening. The Capitals haven’t had a match for New York at any stage in the series. The Rangers have an effective power play, scoring across their lineup, and have only allowed three even-strength goals. The Capitals have a lot of young players, almost as many injuries, and reckless hope. Though the Capitals have done the improbable this year–most strikingly the fact that they’re in the playoffs at all–the Presidents’ Trophy winners are simply too strong for Washington to overcome by sheer force of will.
Main photo by: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
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