Ann 22009 NHL Playoffs – Round 1: Rangers Shut Out Loose Capitals 1-0, Lead Series 2-0
April 20th 2009 04:25
After a disastrous performance by José Théodore in Game 1, Bruce Broudreau decided to take a risk and send rookie Varlamov into the fray in order to provide better goaltending for his freewheeling squad. Although the Washington Capitals did seem a lot more competent defensively, their confidence in their scoring abilities is what brought them down this time around as they spent more time trying to make fancy plays instead of actually working towards getting an advantage.
The playoffs are all about capitalizing on every single chance you get because you may never get the same opportunity again. I don't think the Capitals understand this concept just yet because what I saw on Saturday afternoon is a team playing as if there will always be another chance, another period, another game to reverse their deficit. The New York Rangers had one clear scoring chance in the first period and they buried it. The Caps, on the other hand, spent their time fooling around with cross-ice passes in the offensive zone that any focused opponent could intercept. Their passes were sloppy, their shots were sloppy, everything about the Caps on that day screamed nonchalance. Compare that to the strong work ethic and defensive awareness of the Rangers and you can see why the seventh seed in the East is currently 2-0 against the Southeast champions. The worst part of it (or the best part depending on how you look at it) is that both teams are now on their way to the Madison Square Garden where Henrik Lundqvist is the reigning king. If I'm Bruce Broudreau, I give Varlamov another go and tell my troops to get their head in the game. This isn't fun time anymore, it's serious time.
My 3 Stars:
3. Ryan Callahan
2. Nik Antropov
1. Henrik Lundqvist
The playoffs are all about capitalizing on every single chance you get because you may never get the same opportunity again. I don't think the Capitals understand this concept just yet because what I saw on Saturday afternoon is a team playing as if there will always be another chance, another period, another game to reverse their deficit. The New York Rangers had one clear scoring chance in the first period and they buried it. The Caps, on the other hand, spent their time fooling around with cross-ice passes in the offensive zone that any focused opponent could intercept. Their passes were sloppy, their shots were sloppy, everything about the Caps on that day screamed nonchalance. Compare that to the strong work ethic and defensive awareness of the Rangers and you can see why the seventh seed in the East is currently 2-0 against the Southeast champions. The worst part of it (or the best part depending on how you look at it) is that both teams are now on their way to the Madison Square Garden where Henrik Lundqvist is the reigning king. If I'm Bruce Broudreau, I give Varlamov another go and tell my troops to get their head in the game. This isn't fun time anymore, it's serious time.
My 3 Stars:
3. Ryan Callahan
2. Nik Antropov
1. Henrik Lundqvist
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