The Washington Capitals and NY Rangers open their second round NHL playoffs series with Game 1 and Game 2 from Madison Square Garden in New York on Thursday and Saturday and the first matchup starts at 7:30 pm ET from MSG and will be on TV from the NBC Sports Network and online streaming from the NBCSN Live Extra website as Alexander Ovechkin and Henrik Lundqvist face off.
The Rangers come into the game after taking care of the Penguins in five games and they won all of those matchups by the score of 2-1. The team was the best in the NHL this season and this could be the best chance they have to win the Cup. Montreal and Tampa Bay are the other teams left and both of those matchups would be intriguing as well.
The Rangers won over the Canadiens last season in the east finals, while a trade with Ryan Callahan and Martin St. Louis would be the center story of a battle between NY and Tampa Bay. But before that the Rangers have the Caps and they could be a deadly team. The Caps outlasted the Islanders in seven games and now the teams are playing again. The Rangers won the series in 2012 and 2013 and the Caps took the series in 2009 and 2011.
The Rangers and the Caps sure know each other in the playoffs, as this will be the fifth series for the teams over the last seven seasons. The Rangers have played well against the Caps, but the two have had some hard fought series and now this will be another one. The Caps just played seven games and while the Rangers won in five over the Penguins, it was not an easy series by any stretch of the imagination.
This is the best chance for the Rangers to win the Cup in 20 years, as they made it to the finals last year, but this season the Kings are not even in the playoffs. The Bruins, Penguins and Kings are all out of the playoffs, while the Blackhawks are the only recent Stanley cup winner in the west. That leaves a major void in the NHL and there are no power house teams, leaving the Rangers as the top seed and the favorites.
The Rangers come in after being one of the most consistent teams in the NHL all season. The team was third in goals scored and in goals against and they have the best goalie in the league. Ovi will try and get things going and if Lundqvist can shut it down, the Rangers should be in line to take the series. The team knows the Caps and this will be a tough series no matter the outcome.
Check here for the Washington Capitals and NY Rangers live coverage.
