New York Rangers Battle Washington Capitals on the Road in Game Three

The New York Rangers now have the chance to take a lead in the series against the Washington Capitals. And as one of the best teams on the road, the Rangers are likely to win tonight.

Time: 7:30 pm EST
Location: Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
Where to watch: CBC, TVA, NBCSN

The series between these two teams is now tied at one apiece: Washington grabbed Game One with a 2-1 win and then New York took Game Two with a 3-2 win. Overall it’s almost unbelievable that the Rangers have lost only twice in the Playoffs up to this point, but here’s to hoping it stays that way.

New York Rangers

Coming off of a win at the Garden, the Rangers know they have to buckle down and focus on this game tonight. They know there’s no room to think that, “oh we won last time so it’s okay to take it easy now.” That’s not their mindset going into this game, just as they’ve gone into any other game. Everyone is expecting them to show up and play a full 60 minutes beginning to end.

New York Rangers

If the Rangers are going to live up to those expectations, they need to get on the board first. Having that early lead has done them well many a time in these playoffs. The momentum they gain always seems to carry them over the second and final periods to hold on to a lead for a win.

The line that’s most likely to lamp the light is first is the very new Chris Kreider – Derek Stepan – Jesper Fast line. They found twine on their first shift, under a minute into Game Two, with Kreider’s quick goal.

So if they can accomplish an early goal again tonight, it’ll definitely help the whole team fight to the finish for a win.

As for defense and Henrik Lundqvist, they have been relatively solid through all of Round One and Round Two so far. They’ve helped squash a lot of chances for the Caps to make a comeback in Game Two (remember Hank’s windmill style save) and there’s no doubt that they’ll do so again in Game Three.

All in all, the Rangers know what they have to do to win on the road. And after a couple of games getting used to playing Washington in the postseason, they know specifically what to do in order to win against the Caps this evening.

For the Rangers lineup, click here.

Washington Capitals

You don’t have to be a psychic to know who will probably score a goal tonight, just as he’s done every single time against the Broadway Blueshirts this entire year. It seems inevitable that Alex Ovechkin will get on the scoresheet one way or another, on his skates or on his knees. I know he’s the enemy, but seriously that was an incredible goal in Game Two no matter who scored it.

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You can see by the featured picture of this article that it takes A LOT of effort to hold back Ovechkin. That doesn’t mean the Rangers defense shouldn’t try to stop him though. As long as defense remains at the level we’ve seen all postseason, they should be able to limit his contribution to the score board.

The physicality is almost certain to pick up now that play has shifted over to the Cap’s home arena. This team plays an aggressive style of hockey and what better place to show that than in their own rink. That may mean either the Rangers will have to answer back or maybe play with discipline just as they did against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The referees of this series seem to let a lot slide though, so perhaps the Rangers will continue to be aggressive as well. But either way we’ll find out what style the Rangers will choose to implement tonight.

For the Capitals lineup, click here.

Next: Henrik Lundqvist is Thriving After Injury

New York Rangers Battle Washington Capitals on the Road in Game Three

The New York Rangers now have the chance to take a lead in the series against the Washington Capitals. And as one of the best teams on the road, the Rangers are likely to win tonight.

New York Rangers

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