Most fans would have hoped to split games in Washington. Who could have thought that Alex Ovechkin and company could be held at bay twice at home?
After a stellar defensive performance led by Henrik Lundqvist (35 saves), the Rangers return home for games Monday and Wednesday night with a 2 - 0 series lead against an increasingly frustrated Washington team.
BB+ will have the postgame commentary.
The lone goal was scored by the continuously impressive Ryan Callahan and "The King" took care of the rest for his third career playoff shutout.
While the Rangers played most of the game in their own end and were lifeless on the power play, they were effective defensively and gave up few scoring chances.
Wade Redden and Michal Rozsival continue to lead the way for the defensive corps. and have had the primary duty of matching up with AO and Mike Green, rather than the expected Marc Staal. Now, as the series switches to New York, the Rangers will have the last change and the greatest opportunity to match combinations.
Chris Drury returned, though looked in pain much of the afternoon, and continued his strong defensive play. As has Nik Antropov who has shown a great ability to come back and help the defense, making a couple game-saving plays down low in his own end.
The game was surprisingly chippy, but also the kind of shutdown hockey that the Rangers have been known for over the past four seasons.
However, the Rangers are going to need more than one goal to defeat the Caps as they are now beginning to have their backs against the wall.
Monday should be entertaining.
More analysis in the morning...