New York Rangers win Game One of the First Round Series against the Capitals
Your New York Rangers won game one of their first-round series against the Washington Capitals 4-1 as the fourth line sparkled. Depth scoring proved to be the decisive difference between these two teams as we reached the business end of the hockey season. New York played very well to win and start the series off on the right foot while not allowing the Capitals to settle into this game.
New York's fourth line would be the one to break the ice, and it was the crowd favorite. A good zone entry would allow Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow to get to work along the boards. Vesey got it in deeper Goodrow, where the Rangers got the puck out in front to Matt Rempe, and the big man would put the puck home. It was a good finish from the giant to make it 1-0.
Soon after, the Rangers would double the lead. Alexis Lafreniere would check Vincent Iorio. Lafreniere got it to Vincent Trocheck, and Trocheck found the team MVP. Artemi Panarin was able to find a hole in Charlie Lindgren. New York had stormed out to a 2-0 lead in the second period, and the dam had broken. It was a matter of keeping the offense ticking and putting the Capitals to the sword.
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After the goal, Iorio would go down the tunnel, favoring his shoulder. This injury put the Capitals at a disadvantage, as they were now down to five defensemen. The Rangers, with a lead and a wounded opponent, had the opportunity to exploit this and start dismantling their opponents, potentially breaking their will to win and making this series more routine moving forward.
The fourth line struck again before the midway mark of the second to open the seas between the two teams. A faceoff win by Barclay Goodrow allowed the puck to return to Vesey, who got the puck past Lindgren. There was some contempt as Rempe set a legal pick on Beck Malenstyn to open the space for Vesey's shot, but they ruled it was legal. New York was now in complete control with more than half the game.
Washington would strike back with 12:30 to go in the middle frame as Aliaksei Protas would get the puck out in front to Tom Wilson. Wilson had a slap-pass to the back post for Martin Fehervary, who had jumped into the offensive play from his blueline position. A deflection home from the Slovakian defenseman got the Capitals on the board, but the Rangers were still in the ascendancy.
New York would grab a fourth with less than four minutes to go in the game when Mika Zibanejad gathered a loose puck in the defensive zone. He turns to look up the ice where Chris Kreider is already racing up the ice behind the Capitals defenseman. A fantastic pass from the Swede drops the puck onto the stick of the Rangers big winger, and Kreider beats Lindgren to the left side around the pad to make it 4-1 Rangers. It was his 41st playoff goal in his career, and it was over. Rangers win game 1.