Photo credit: Jared Wickerham

Looking back over the last few years, I feel like I could articulate reasons for each year the Capitals got bounced from the playoffs. Last year’s Hunter Caps didn’t generate enough shots to win more than 50% of their games. Boudreau’s 2011 trap-Caps got beat by the Bolts’ suffocating two-man forecheck. The 2010 Caps were a solid team that ran into a white-hot goalie, i.e. they got Halak’d. And in ’09, an injured but explosive Caps crew couldn’t withstand the Cup-bound Penguins.

This year is a bit tougher. Certainly New York’s excellent goaltending deserves a bunch of credit for vanquishing the Capitals, but I’m hard-pressed to characterize this iteration of the team and how they fell short. I think that’s due to the abbreviated season, one bereft of a real training camp for rookie coach Adam Oates to implement his system. And that system itself is harder to peg down– I suppose it relies on a quick transition game (but not as wide-open as the 08-09 version) and using an overload defense (but nothing we’d describe as a trap, thank goodness).

So my goal is to find out — objectively– who these 2013 Caps were and how they got beat by the Rangers. (Plus: kitten GIFs.)

A note: I know this is coming a full two weeks after most everyone has moved on. If you find this article to be redundant, I totally understand if you skip it. I’ve spent the last two weeks trying to make RMNB readers laugh, but I think I’m finally ready to face the cold hard facts now.

Possession

Let’s start with the basics. Possession (or “tilting the ice”) is what we call the percentage of shots each team attempts at even strength. That shot-attempt rate is the best predictor we have of a future team’s success, but it is by no means a crystal ball (cf. Halak’d).

The regular-season Caps were 22nd in the league at tilting the ice (excluding blocked shots and score effects) with 47.72%. The New York Rangers were 7th in the league with 53.88%. In a world free of statistical variance, that differential would spell doom for the Caps, so let’s check that out first.

(Quick rejoinder: Lots of readers have hypothesized that the Caps’ possession might have improved over the regular season, but that didn’t turn out to be true– they actually got slightly worse since those opening weeks.)

When the score was close (and it was close for pretty much the whole series), the Capitals actually tilted the ice against the Rangers 52.8%. That’s a reversal of where these teams were the in regular season. The Capitals were the more aggressive team– more than the Rangers, and more than themselves during the regular season. Very encouraging, though we already know how it turned out.

Those numbers exclude blocked shots, but I should note that, true to form, the Rangers out-blocked the Capitals 161 to 130. We can (and should) debate the usefulness of shot-blocking (hey wait, we already did!), but here’s something that jumped out at me: the Capitals averaged 19 blocks a game, but mustered less than half that (9) in game seven. I really, really, really doubt that shot-blocking is why the Caps lost, but it might be an indicator of a team that at some point during that game had accepted defeat with a three-goal deficit and twenty minutes remaining (Apparently the Bruins did not feel the same).

It’s always good to revisit Chris Boyle’s revelatory visualization of how possession determines postseason success. Teams with low possession rarely perform well in the playoffs, but in this series the Capitals tilted the ice and still lost. Our search continues…

Goaltending and Shooting

I should start by saying both of these goalies were excellent. Braden Holtby served up a 92.2% save percentage during the playoffs (ever so slightly better than his regular season 92.0%, and very much tainted by the game seven meltdown). He put up four quality starts, three of which the Capitals converted into a win, and seemingly bettered his 2012 performance up until everything went awful in game seven. Holtby was certainly good enough to give the Caps a chance to win.

But.

Henrik Lundqvist had a 93.7% save percentage, including shutouts in both elimination games — flawless against 62 shots. Before games six and seven, Lundqvist was hovering around a Fleury-ian 90.7%. When it mattered most, he became unstoppable. When the Rangers were a man down (more on that below), Lundqvist was similarly awesome– 93.1%. And when playing at evens, Lundqvist was lights-out– 95.5% save percentage.

Clutch.

There’s this stat called PDO (the acronym is meaningless) that is used to observe how statistical variance can make good teams look bad and bad teams look good over short stretches. It adds up your team’s shooting percentage and save percentage, hoping the result is somewhere near 1000– teams significantly above or below eventually come crashing down. The Capitals were exactly 1000 until game 7, when scoring dried up and Holtby allowed five even-strength goals.

The Capitals finished with a PDO of 957. Yikes.

Henrik Lundqvist halak’d the Caps, although I suppose somebody could also say the Caps just shot poorly, selecting shots that were easy to save and not creating dangerous scoring chances. Whom we choose to blame or credit may say more about ourselves than it does about a hockey player.

Penalties and Special Teams

To Caps fans, the officiating in the 2013 playoffs will be upsetting for years to come. The Capitals went shorthanded 28 times in 7 games. They spent 45:48 with at least one man down, more than 11% of the series.

On the other hand, the Capitals got 18 power play opportunities, including none in game six, a 1-0 New York victory in which neither team had a decisive possession advantage.

That disparity isn’t unprecedented. Vancouver served even less time on power play, and Montreal spent longer on the kill per game. But it is a bit surprising that the Capitals committed so many more penalties despite having the puck more often. Most commonly called penalties (holding, slashing, hooking) are committed by the team without the puck, and the weakest possession teams tend to cluster up near the top of the “times shorthanded” stat. The Capitals had a decisive possession advantage in this series and still got locked up as if they got caught in Detroit with a dimebag.

This raises the specter of officiating bias and his drunk uncle, conspiracy theory. I have no patience for the latter (why would the NHL want Alex Ovechkin out of the playoffs early?), but we definitely saw some bad calls in the series, most of them against the Caps. I don’t think it was a well officiated series, but I can’t think of anything useful to do with that opinion. It’s not like there’s some forum for aggrieved fans to appeal to the league for a redo, and being grumpy all summer is a wearying thought. What do we do with outrage? Put it aside and move on, I guess.

Until game seven’s 5-goal mollywhomping, the Capitals led the Rangers in goals 12 to 11. I mention that because special-teams scoring is even more precious in low-scoring series, and this was one of those.

The Capitals killed 26 of their 28 penalties, including 5 of 6 in the Rangers’ one-goal win in game three and all five in the Rangers’ one-goal win in game six. That’s a 92.9% kill rate. That’s incredible, a big fluffy feather in the caps of kill-leaders John Carlson, John Erskine, Karl Alzner, and Steve Oleksy. Holtby deserves credit as well, but the PK unit actually limited shots against better than most playoff teams (p.s. check out how much Vancouver got lit up while a man-down).

And then there’s the power play. After game 24, I noted that the Caps’ power play wasn’t generating enough shots to deserve its first place slot, and we should expect them to fall off in the back half of the season. Obviously, I meant to say playoffs. The Caps fired the same amount of shots against the Rangers as they did in the regular season (48.7 and 48.3 per 60 minutes, respectively), putting them right in the middle of the pack. On a small volume of shots, Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers held the Caps to a 18.8% conversion rate– mediocre, and reason to worry about next season.

Lightning Round!

Here’s just a whole bunch of stats without a bunch of ugly words to muck it all up.

Conclusions

• The Capitals were the better team in the series based on possession, particularly at 5 on 5 hockey.
• The Capitals committed (or were whistled for) too many penalties despite having the puck much more than their opponent. Discipline problems?
• An outstanding penalty kill kept the Capitals competitive despite being drastically overworked.
• Braden Holtby’s franchise goalkeeping was indispensable in warding off a New York offense that outmatched the Caps until game seven.
• Once the Capitals’ abberatively high shooting percentage regressed, they had no path to victory.
• Henrik Lundqvist happened.

As far as I’m concerned, the Caps got Halak’d again. While they banked too hard on the belief that their power play could keep on converting  a quarter of all power plays, they compensated by owning the puck at even strength– an encouraging sign for next season. And while a bunch of bad penalties (either in the infraction itself or the adjudication of the officials) put them at a disadvantage, their excellent penalty killers mitigated the damage.

But Henrik Lundqvist allowed less than one goal for every 20 shots on net at even strength, and he didn’t crack once in either elimination game.

All of this has happened before and will happen again.

And Now…

All my leftover kitten GIFs.

GIF by welshhockeyfan

Henrik Lundqvist is dreamy and one hell of a goaltender. But tonight, you can’t help but feel sorry for the 31-year-old Swede, after stopping 33 Capitals shots and falling just short in overtime.

Oh wait, who am I kidding? No, I don’t. Enjoy the GIF.

@russianmachine Kolzig would have broken his.

— Puckhead’s Thoughts (@pckhdsthghts) May 11, 2013

“WOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” (Photo credit: Patrick McDermott)

Jason Chimera hasn’t scored a lot of goals this season — so few, in fact, that’s it’s become A Thing. Chimera markers are special occasions to be celebrated– like a John Carlson backcheck. But Thursday, in game one of the 2013 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, we got another special occasion.

Just 46 seconds after Marcus Johansson took Steve Oleksy‘s divine saucer pass and put it behind Henrik Lundqvist in the second period, Chimmer added another goal to Washington’s tally. Taking a pass from Mathieu Perreault, the Bald Bullet swept the puck towards the net from the blueline. It seemed as if Chimera was trying to set up a play for Matty P, who by then had parked himself in front of net. Instead, Chimera’s puck trickled lazily past King Henrik.

“He’s had some struggles as far as the regular season goes,” Troy Brouwer said of Chimera. “To see him score early on, get confidence, play well [is good]. He loves helping the team out, he loves playing hockey, and he did a great job tonight.”

2013, so far at least, has been a crummy year for Chimera. In 47 regular season games, he registered just three goals. Last season, in a full 82, he scored 20. But, as many players are quick to point out, everything starts over in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And in that case, Chimera is now tied for second in the league in goals.

In the most beautiful moment of childlike joy I’ve ever seen, Chimera threw his hands in the air after the puck crossed the line, screaming as he skated towards the Capitals bench, which was ready to welcome him into their grasp. Karl Alzner then skated in from behind, wrapping his arms around Chimera’s waist, and lifted the 213-pound, newly-minted 34-year-old off the ground.

Alzner bearhug vine.co/v/bQnteBQeVjg

— Dan Steinberg (@dcsportsbog) May 3, 2013

“I think he strained his back trying to pick me up!” Chimera said after the game. “It’s fun. This is what you live for as a young kid: playing the New York Rangers, scoring a goal. You can’t beat that.”

Photo credit: Greg Fiume

The golden years of the Capitals’ “Young Guns” — Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, Mike Green, Alex Semin — are over. Back in 2009, they were scoring almost constantly, having career years as the Caps blew out teams on the way to the Presidents’ Trophy.

Mike Green does his best Alex Ovechkin impersonation. (Photo credit: Nick Wass)

Three years later, Bruce Boudreau is gone, the goals are way down, and Washington barely made the playoffs. But Saturday afternoon against the New York Rangers in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals they made a reappearance.

“We’ve been here the longest,” Backstrom told reporters after the game. “We need to step up.”

Ovechkin — whose struggles the past few seasons have been well documented — started the scoring off with a knuckling slapper that Henrik Lundqvist could not handle. Then, after New York tied the game up, Backstrom unleashed a fantastic snipe from the slot. And with the contest knotted at two with 5:48 left in the third, Green fired a bullet from the point on the power play to send the series back to New York even at two games apiece.

“Game over Green, I guess,” said Brooks Laich. “He’s a game breaker, he makes a great shot, and it ends up being the game-winning goal.”

According to Stats LLC, this is the 13th time the Ovechkin-Backstrom-Green trio has tallied in the same contest. The Caps are 13-0 in those games.

“Young Guns?” Green said with a laugh in the Caps locker room when asked about the group. “We’re not so young anymore.”

For Green, the goal was only his second since November of last year. It’s been a difficult last couple of seasons for the 26-year-old defensemen. He has played just 81 games since the start of the 2010-11 campaign, missing time because of multiple concussions and a lingering groin injury that required surgery.

“I know that I can still score at least — it’s been so long,” Green chuckled. “I think my role has changed a little bit around here since my injury. It’s never easy after one with surgery. [I’m] just doing what’s asked of me. I was fortunate enough to get the game-winning goal tonight.”

Photo credit: Mitchell Layton

A long way from the 30 goal scorer and Norris Trophy finalist of yesteryear, Green has had to adjust to less ice time as John Carlson and Karl Alzner have become the team’s top defensive pairing and Dennis Wideman has taken over some of his responsibilities as a big minute offensive blueliner.

Said Alzner of his teammate: “He’s been having a lot of chances, he’s been doing all the right things, and whatever he may have lacked this year in goal scoring he’s made up for in defensive play in my opinion.”

“I think it’s good for his confidence,” Alzner continued, referring to the game-winner. “He’s had so many close chances. Goalies have made big saves, posts, crossbars, and ones that he normally puts in. It nice that he can get not only a goal, but a huge goal. I’m hoping that it kick starts something extra for him because that guy, when he gets fired up, he gets really fired up. He can help his team like crazy.”

Photo credit: Mitchell Layton

After the grueling march of disappointment that was Game Three, we expected a rallying effort from the Caps. But we weren’t naive enough to expect a different kind of game. We know by now that the Capitals are capable of playing only one-goal games. What we didn’t know is that they could get goals out of Alex Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom, and Mike Green in the same game. It was like 2009 up in here.

Here’s how it went:  After a battle in the corner, Alex Ovechkin ripped a one-timer that beat Lundqvist’s glove for the game’s first goal.

Artem Anisimov tied it up early in the second by beating Braden Holtby, who was left helpless when Brooks Laich and Alex Ovechkin couldn’t block a weirdly bouncing pass. Nick Backstrom reasserted the lead by tenderizing Artem Anisimov and then putting Chimera’s pass in the net. Artem Anisimov won an icing race against Jeff Schultz and set up Marian Gaborik for another tying goal through Holtby’s five-hole.

Mike Green put the Caps up with a powerplay goal late in the third. It was the game-winner. Caps beat Rangers 3-2.

In the second period, Alex Ovechkin delivered a hit on Dan Girardi that earned him a minor penalty for charging. Ovechkin’s skates clearly left the ice before the hit, raising the specter of suspension. NBC’s Mike Milbury says the hit was unacceptable and deserves a fine or suspension, Keith Jones says it was a defensive move and the charging penalty will suffice. Here’s the hit:

Apparently I’m so tainted by my biases that my opinion doesn’t matter, but I’m on Keith’s team. It looked shoulder-to-shoulder to me, although we’ve seen how Shanahan considers any kind of airborne hit equivalent to the wild west. If Ovi did indeed connect with Girardi’s noggin, the “principal point of contact” line of reasoning is irrelevant. Ovechkin is responsible for what happens when he launches himself off the ice.

Regardless, we’d really appreciate it if Ovechkin gets this out of his game. Not the dirty hits; I mean hitting in general. Uncle Ted doesn’t pay nine gazillion dollars a year so Alex can hit dudes, he does it so Alex can SCOAR MOAR GOALS. Ted can probably find $600k for some mook to hit guys, but goals are so much more precious.

Photo credit: Mitchell Layton

• Alex Ovechkin‘s goal was a happy accident made possible by an uncharacteristically rookie goof from stud Chris Kreider and a bad glove save by Henrik Lundqvist. Let’s see more of those mistakes please, kthxbye!
• Jeff Schultz is gonna get a lot of flack for losing the icing race (although icing had already been waved off) against Artem Anisimov, but the blame should be shared with the team’s Escape Goat, Dennis Wideman. Wideman allowed Anisimov to get past him, and sent the puck behind the net off his glove– nullifying the icing. But let’s not forget that Jeff Schultz led the Caps in blocks with 9 (6 more than any Caps player, 8 more than any Ranger) and looked tough throughout the game. With some better communication, this pivotal play would’ve been no big deal at all. So lay off the Giraffe. He’s still better at hockey than you are.
• We saw one of our all-time favorite traditions today: the washed-out Mike Knuble playoff goal! Along with the puck, Kanoobs was shoved into Lundqvist by Stu Bickel. The puck must’ve gone in, but there was no evidence. Besides, the officials already waved the goal off. How many times have we seen this? I can recall three Knuble goals– all potential game-winners– that have been nullified in the playoffs since 2009. That’s Mike’s style of play and a big part of why we love him, so I guess we’ve gotten used to this. The NHL has made us cynical.
• Players sort of underestimate Nick Backstrom, don’t they? He’s got the reputation of a effete Swede, so when he decked Artem Anisimov to open up ice for a big goal, everyone was shocked. Anisimov didn’t see it coming: he was skating in to give 19 a tough hit to the shoulder, but Backstrom anticipated and delivered a pre-emptive response. I’d love to see more of that kind of grit from Backstrom. He’s already a three-dimensional player with upsides in every game situation, but being a more physical player might earn him a little space to make the magic we know he can.
• Alex Semin was the only Young Gun not to score today, but it doesn’t matter. Sasha was one of the best forwards on the ice (plus-7 Fenwick, 4 shots)– and  without any of those wacky stick penalties that are so often concomitant.

Series record: Capitals 2, Rangers 2

Knotted. Like each game so far, this series is tight. The tension is high. But like your boy RG3 says: no pressure, no diamonds.

How great was it– not just to win– but to do so on the backs of the stars? Alex Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom, and Mike Green were your goal scorers today. Each of those players had a tough season: Ovi with his suspension and media scrutiny, Backstrom with a concussion, Mike Green with a defective body that is apparently no longer covered by a manufacturer’s warranty.

But here they were, playing great hockey when it mattered most.

The Capitals and Rangers are tied. We’re looking at a best-of-three series now– two in New York, one more at home. If the Caps can win, they’ll advance to the Conference Finals for the first time in more than a decade.

They can do it.

Now: go celebrate. It’s a beautiful Saturday afternoon. It’s Cinco de Mayo. It’s Free Comic Book Day. Go have a party.

Here: I’ll get you started with this dance remix of Bailamos.

Photo credit: Greg Fiume

After losing in triple overtime in Game Three, Game Four was a must-win for the Washington Capitals.

Luckily, for Caps fans, Alex Ovechkin brought his sniper stick today.

In his first shift after the Verizon Center crowd erupted in their “Ovi! Ovi!” chant at the 8-minute mark, Ovechkin capitalized on a brutal Chris Kreider turnover in the Rangers’ zone. As Kreider attempted a no-look pass to the center of the ice (a no-no in every professional hockey league except for the KHL) the puck went right to Ovechkin instead, who one-timed the puck past Henrik Lundqvist’s glove.

Video is below the jump.

BAM!

It was Ovechkin’s fourth tally of the 2011-12 playoffs and his 29th goal in 48 career playoff games, which is one away from Peter Bondra’s franchise record of 30. It also continues his personal trend of scoring in every other playoff game against the Rangers.

Now let’s do the belly pat.

GIF

Created by welshhockeyfan.tumblr.com

Photo credit: Bruce Bennett

This year has been something of a breakout for Jason Chimera, with the speedy winger hitting a career-high 20 goals and becoming a key piece of the Capitals’ depth. You didn’t have to tell Henrik Lundqvist he could score — Chimera now has goals in three consecutive postseason games against the Rangers, going back to the last game of the Caps/Rangers series in 2011, and has become something of a personal nightmare for the All-Star goalie.

You can’t expect the goals to come easy against a netminder of that caliber though, and Chimera’s tally in the Caps’ 3-2 win on Monday was anything but. Following a crazypants individual effort from Matt Hendricks and an equally crazy almost-save from Lundqvist, Chimera finished off the team’s efforts to tap the goal in. We take a closer look below.

Wonderboy Phenom Chris Kreider comes out of the box and dashes down the ice. He cannot afford for this game to go into overtime. He has not finished his math homework.

Braden Holtby several miles out of the crease, as per norm.

DENIED.

People in the zone: Carlson, Alzner, and a rookie. Somehow we think this is going to turn out okay.

Oops, now you’ve let Jason Chimera have a bunch of open ice. Bad idea, Rangers.

Rocket skates: engage.

That special moment when the opposing players realize they are not going to win this footrace.

Lundqvist with his best Holtby impression.

Accidentally in a stick battle with a forward.

And losing a stick battle with a forward.

This not how Lundvqist saw this turning out.

Hendricks is backwards and trying to shoot through his own legs and two Rangers, but when has that ever stopped him before?

Nobody has any idea what’s going on.

Ryan McDonagh doesn’t know where the puck is. Jason Chimera knows where the puck is.

And he knows what to do with it.

SCOAR.

Speed kills, kids.

Here’s a good overhead look at the goalmouth scramble.

Gif by Dimagus.

There was a point during the Capitals’ 3-1 loss to the New York Rangers when it seemed like victory was within reach. That moment came at the close of the second period.

Brooks Laich skated the puck into the Rangers’ zone with ten seconds left to go. He had a decision to make. Leading a 3-on-2 break in the closing seconds, he could have either pulled up and shot the puck from the perimeter, hoping for Jason Chimera to convert the rebound, or he could send a lateral pass over to the Capitals leading scorer, Alex Ovechkin, and see what magic he could make.

Instead, Laich opted for option C: a high-risk, high-reward hailmary saucer pass to Jason Chimera that would have to travel over two defenders’ sticks and somehow find the tape of his stick.

He chose C, and he made it work. Let’s review.

Laich believes Chimera can win a foot race against Dan Girardi…

…And lofts a saucer pass over Marc’s Staal’s stick.

Unreal.

Girardi might think he’s got this…

… but seriously, you guys…

The pass exceeds Girardi reach. It’s placed perfectly. All up to Chimera now.  

The puck lands right in front of Chimera…

… and hops onto the heel of his stick.

Chimera one-times the puck…

And scores though Lundqvist’s five-hole.

Just how Dale drew it up!

Torts is not happy. (Photo credit: Puck Buddys)

It was Chimera’s third goal in six career playoff games against Lundqvist (Thanks, Neil).

Video of the Chimera Goal

The Washington Capitals took their future into their own hands with a big overtime win over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night. As John Walton said, “the king is dead, and the Caps are still dancing.” The Caps have waited until now to find out who their round two dancing partner would be while a couple Games Sevens shook out. But now we know who will join the Caps in the conference semifinals.

The Washington Capitals will face the New York Rangers in the second round. This is fine with us: we’re in a mood right now and there’s nobody the Caps cannot beat. Still, of all our team’s potential dancing partners, the Rangers are the ones who usually step on our toes. Follow us past the jump to have your memory refreshed on exactly who these guys are, and what they’ve been up to since we saw them last.

• The Caps are facing the Rangers for the third time in four years. We won the other two– once in 2009 and once last year, which I’m sure is still fresh in everyone’s memory. We beat NYR like it’s our job.
• Not to say that this is the same team that we saw last year in the playoffs. The addition of Brad Richards has given the Rangers a legitimate first line and a great setup man for Marian Gaborik, who ended the year with 41 goals. This is a disturbing amount of goals. Deploy the Carlzner.
• So now we’re facing down a team with good team defense, an All-Star goalie, and good forward depth, who dominated the regular season. This is totally new and unfamiliar territory for the Caps. However will they manage?!
• The Bruins’ Claude Julien had this to say about the Capitals on exit interviews: “They’ve adapted, to a certain extent, the New York Rangers’ style. They’re just sitting back in their own end and just blocking every shot they can.” Let’s go ahead and christen this the Black and Blue series. But while the Rangers’ commitment to shot blocking seems to be predicated on how much John Tortorella is yelling at them at the moment, the Caps’ commitment comes from somewhere else.

• We’re guessing John Tortorella is going to be mad about something pretty soon. I give it ’til 2 PM tomorrow. Please pray for the brave men and women of our local press this week.
• The Caps split their regular-season series with the Rangers down the middle (2-2), but I’m sure the win you all remember was a 4-1 floor-mopping to close out the season. Perhaps you were partying with us at the time. We sincerely hope you were.
• We could have had Craig “Knife Guard” Anderson this round, or Martin “Life Alert” Brodeur. Could have. But no, it wasn’t to be — instead the Caps will have to face Handsome Lundqvist in all his glimmering perfection. Henrik Lundqvist is leading all goaltenders in the East with a .945 SV%, but Braden Holtby is right behind him with a .940. Lundqvist won’t be an easy opponent, but luckily we know the remedy for a stellar goaltender: Crash the net. We hope they’re playing tape of Mike Knuble rolling into the crease like a train in the locker room tomorrow.
• We already know by Highly Scientific Measurement that We Are Louder than the Madison Square Garden crowd. We’re looking forward to whatever chant battles this year brings.
• We’re also looking forward to playing on an ice sheet with the approximate consistency of a New York City street in mid-November. Watch for: Semin baby deer leg syndrome.

Oh yeahh.

• What we learned from the first round: don’t make ‘em mad because they will totally flip a Gatorade cooler. We’re not sure how this is comparable to “poking the bear.” More delicious?
• No home ice for the second straight round. Problem? Not so much. The Caps won three games in the TD Garden last round, and the Rangers lost two in the MSG. Overall, teams won just 38% of games on home ice in the  first round. We’re getting the feeling that this year winners are not decided by who’s sleeping in their own beds.

The Rangers are the only Original Six team left standing. Apparently no one’s told them yet that it’s the Year of the Underdog. The Caps can do this, we know that, because they did it yesterday. The first round was fun, but let’s take this as far as we can go.

Caps in 6.

Doug Johnson is a Puck Buddy. This is his pregamer. This is teh twitterz.

The Pregame: Fun! Today’s installment of “Places That Smell” has us visiting the big macher of smells, New York City! Boo-yah!

This is fun because it’s true. The entire place is one massive reek… or, more accurately, hundreds of smaller little reeks. Did you know, for instance, that the five boroughs of New York City were formed not for political reasons, but as a way of keeping one smelly New Yorker from having to endure his pungent neighbors? The subway pretty much put an end to that, and now the whole place stinks like the laundry room in a European hostel. Anyone who’s been in either knows this to be gospel truth.

New Yorker

New Yorkers know this as well, but because they also have the thinnest skins of anyone on the planet, they simply cannot stand to hear others say it. So they will talk (or yell) themselves blue in the face trying to convince you that NYC is the single greatest concentration of fantastical awesomeness in the universe. Ugh, we get it. Face it, New York: you’re needier than a public radio pledge drive.

The Puck Drop

That said, needy isn’t the first word that comes to mind with the New York Rangers. Maybe shnook is. Or good… like, scary good. They’re 7-2-1 in the last ten (compare with our 4-3-3) with only the Devils yanking their tails, and at 35-13-3 they have fewer loses that anyone else in the NHL.

So what’s their secret, and how do we kick ‘em in the kishkes?

What Makes Them Hot (And Us Not)

1: Road Weariers. They like playing in their own litter box just a tiny bit less than we like playing in ours – and of late, we haven’t even been doing all that great at Verizon. But where they just have us beat cold is on the road.  The Blueshirts’ 18-7-3 away record is a near inversion of our 9-14-3, with many of our road wins in Canada, which just feels like it should count a little less or something. By this measure, they have serious advantage over us Sunday.

Henrik Lundqvist

2: It’s Good To Be King. There’s a reason Henrik Lundqvist is called King, and it isn’t because he won the looks lottery. The Rangers’ goals for/against of 145/106, is one of the best differentials going and the single stingiest net in the NHL, due largely to the herring-gobbler Lundqvist. You think Tomáš Vokoun looks hot at .920%? Try the King’s .936%. Add to this the fact that the Rangers aren’t shooting  as well as you might think a top team should, and a forecheck that actually works, and it equals a monster in the twine. Plus, he’s a doodyhead.

3: Can Mike Come Out And Play? The Rangers have their over-achievers (Derek Stepan with 6 points in his last 5, and Marian Gaborik with 27G/21A, plus-16 are but two) and their disappointments (Marc Staal, only recently back on the ice, is 0/0 in his last five outings.) But they are generally a healthy team – that weird hit Fedotenko recently took from his own stick one exception – and even their non-stars like Dan Girardi and Ryan “Shillelagh-Face” McDonagh are playing with star-like abandon.

If only the same could be said about the Caps. Laich’s almost-injury a few days back should have sent shivers through the team. We are thin where it counts most, and don’t seem to be making full use of those who are healthy. In addition to missing a vowel, Hamrlik is also missing opportunities lately, and Carlson seems all but forgotten. (Perhaps he should bring a towel.) And now Knoobs is game-day decision for a healthy scratch.

The OT

Ryan McDonagh

We really liked what we saw against the Panthers; we really didn’t like what we saw against the Bruins. We liked the Habs game; we hated the Hurricanes. In general, there’s too much uppy-down on the ice; too many fluky shots or lazy first period play. When we decide to dig in and fight back we’re great, but there have just been too many moments when we’ve folded too early. And yes, we’re well aware that these same things have been said countless times before.

The ace up our sleeve? This is the Capitals’ Dads weekend, and the team shipped up by train with all the fathers in tow. We’re thinking that this is a very good thing. It’s one thing to play in front of a house full of fans in red (or shnooks in blue) but entirely something else to play in front of your biggest boosters.

It’ll be hard, and it may be ugly, but Sunday we’re pulling for an upset Caps victory.

Meme Of The Day

In honor of the Caps Casino Night. As we say in the PuckBuddys house, we’d hit that!