fletch

Would have been easier to clear the puck a few more times in the last couple minutes, but up 2-0 against a less talented team.

Panarin getting retribution on Oshie for the high stick. Clean through the body.

Best way to get Caps to stop gooning is to keep making them pay from our power play.

Easing into the second, time to reengage

Good push from Caps to start the first and better response from the Rangers to tilt the ice in their favor for most of the period. Caps has a hard time getting any chances after first 5 minutes

1. It's a best of seven series. 2. Rangers focus and play will largely determine whether this is a short series (like it should be) or if it gets extended. 3. Low scoring/low event games keep the games closer and bring puck luck more into play. In low event games if the Caps score first they can try and hold onto the lead. Scoring first helps the Rangers play the game they want to play.

Had to watch on delay (unfortunately)... couldn't be more pleased with game 1.

No excuses. If the Rangers play to their capabilities it doesn't matter what the Caps do, the Rangers will win. The only way this becomes a series is if the Rangers coast and don't work.

congratulations @Morphinity 2.0 and @Keirik Time to start training for next season, since my team wasn't able to finish strong.

The Rangers are favored against the Capitals (rightly) just like any other possible matchup they could have gotten. Full-stop. For a fan, I understand that playing Detroit would be different and novel. Watching the last few games, I thought the Islanders, Red Wings and the Penguins would be the toughest possible matchups with how they are playing. The Red Wings should have lost both games against Montreal, but through will, skill and luck, managed to pull things out - they're got some young players that are continually getting better and don't know their ceiling yet and would be unknown how they would do in a playoff series- so there's reason for optimism in Detroit. We know what we're getting with Washington, so there shouldn't be any surprises - the coaching staff should be able to put the players in situations where they can execute and have opportunities to be successful.

The benchmark is Ron Hextall for goalies clearing out their crease, Hextall had a real nasty streak. https://www.quanthockey.com/nhl/records/nhl-goalies-all-time-penalty-minutes-leaders.html

The Rangers should be favored to win in 5 or 6 games no matter who their opponent is in the first round, and should advance if they play to their capabilities. Full-stop. Whoever gets the final playoff spot in the East earned it by playing great hockey down the stretch. I assumed that the Rangers would take care of business against Ottawa on Monday and watched the Penguins, Red Wings, and Islanders (yes, I cheated on the Rangers and admitted it). The Red Wings have had 13 third period comeback wins and came back and won against Montreal in a game they were down big - they are like watching the Coyotes when Arizona knows they have to put up 5+ goals to win some nights. Penguins are probably playing their best hockey down the stretch, and certainly don't look like the old, slow team we last faced. I haven't seen too much of Washington but they seem to have found hot goaltending and defensive structure to limit chances. So the Rangers won't be able to just show up to the arena and win.

I mean, in addition to the first round playoff loss. They're working on their third coach in 5 years. An aging core has no move clauses. GM continues to try and find quick fixes through deadline veterans at the cost of young player TOI. Players like Shesterkin and Laf give you reason for hope, but there's some vets that are just giving diminishing returns, which is tough. Yet we're one deep run from reviving the fan base.

Let's look at the St Louis Blues in their Stanley Cup Year of 2018-2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_St._Louis_Blues_seasons https://www.hockey-reference.com/teams/STL/2019.html People spin their season different ways. You can say firing Yeo and bringing in Craig Berube was the right coach at the right time for the team. You can say that bringing in Ryan O'Reilly was the catalyst that put them over the top. You can say that Binnington was unbelievably good when they brought him up in the regular season and throughout the post-season run. I'll say that they had two scorers that had more than 60 points in the regular season (O'Reilly and Tarasenko) and that they certainly weren't the most talented team in the Western Conference. What I remember from their playoff run is that they rolled four lines that brought it every shift - there was no coasting - and they were a hard team to play, with solid fundamental hockey plays, that no one could manage to knock out. Did they get puck luck and fortunate bounces? Yup. Was it a long-shot that they would get a .920 caliber goalie when they brought up an unknown goalie? Yup. Did O'Reilly make an impact in the regular season and the playoffs? Yup. But they earned a Stanley Cup when they probably had the talent of a team that usually gets knocked out in the first or second round. I look forward to when I hear people call the Rangers hard instead of soft - because it will mean the franchise is on the right track.

Many players manage to work hard every shift. Is it too much to ask for 15 solid shifts a game? What should the threshold be? 12 good shifts a night? 8 good shifts a night? Or is it OK to just show up for the third period with the game in the balance and make one play to generate the GWG? The tragedy is when a player is capable of more, but fails to achieve. The great ones (the legends) have the extra gear and drive to be the best. The best coaches are able to get the best out of talented players, who may not have the internal drive or belief that they can be better. And then there are the very good players with solid careers, who retire and are welcomed back with full-throated cheers. And the regret that that player didn't earn a Cup. Then come the excuses. The surrounding cast wasn't good enough. Faced a hot goaltender. Got unlucky. Ran into a team of destiny. Lots of excuses over the years for this franchise.