The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 37: Capitals at Rangers, December 27

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

The Washington Capitals return to the ice on Tuesday night with a visit to Madison Square Garden for a date with the New York Rangers.  It promises to be one of those “irresistible force meets immovable object” contests, but not in the way you might think.  With the Caps bringing Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dylan Strome, Conor Sheary, and more to this matchup, you would think the “irresistible force” is the Caps.  And with the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, Igor Shesterkin, in goal for the Rangers, they might be viewed as the “immovable object.”

Well, no, not exactly.  Since Thanksgiving, the Caps have had a productive offense, averaging 3.53 goals per game, tenth in the league in scoring offense.  But it is their defense that has shined, allowing only 2.20 goals per game, third in the league in scoring defense.

On the other side, the Rangers have had a good scoring defense, allowing only 2.71 goals per game, tied for eighth in the league in scoring defense since Thanksgiving, but they have wreaked havoc on opposing goaltenders, averaging 3.71 goals per game, sixth in the league in scoring offense.

That scoring offense has been led in goals by Chris Kreider with seven.  Last season, Kreider posted his first career 50-goal season, finishing the season with 52 goals and obliterating his previous career high of 28 goals with the Rangers in 2016-2017.  But whereas last season was jump started with 16 goals in his first 21 games, this season started slowly for Kreider, who had only four goals in his first 13 games, a respectable 25-goal pace, but less than half of last year’s output.  Kreider has awakened from his early season slumber, though.  He has 12 goals in his last 22 games, a 45-goal pace. 

The odd part about Kreider’s recent goal scoring has been how loosely tied it has been to success.  The Rangers are 3-3-0 in the last six games in which he scored at least one goal and just 6-4-0 in the ten games he scored goals over his 22-game goal scoring run.  It is not even that his overall points scoring has been all that influential on wins, although the Rangers’ record in those games is better than if Kreider is considered only for his goals scored.  In 21 games this season in which he had at least one point, New York is 11-6-4.  Ice time is also an issue, which is not surprising given that the Rangers depend on his production.  Only three times in 13 instances of Kreider skating at least 20 minutes this season did the Rangers win (3-6-4).  Kreider comes into this game with two goals in his last five games, both in a 3-2 loss to Pittsburgh on December 20^th, the Rangers’ only loss in their last nine games  He is 9-6-15, even, in 35 career games against the Caps.

The Rangers have had 1,011 players skate for them in their 96 seasons in the NHL.  None have recorded more points per game than Artemi Panarin – 1.31 in 221 games, far more than second-place Jaromir Jagr (1.15 points per game in 277 games with the Rangers).  He is one of only four players in Rangers history to record two seasons with 95 or more points (95 in 2019-2020 and 96 points last season).  Jagr, Mark Messier, and Rod Gilbert are the others.  Over his four seasons with the Rangers, only three players in the league have more points than the 290 he recorded  Connor McDavid (391), Leon Draisaitl (360), and Auston Matthews (291). 

So why, while he is respected as a superior talent, is Panarin not in the conversation all that often among elite point producers in the NHL?  It is an odd situation.  It cannot be his goal scoring, which has been quite consistent over his eight-year career.  For instance, in his previous stops with the Chicago Blackhawks and the Columbus Blue Jackets – two seasons with Chicago and two with Columbus – he posted 116 goals in 322 games, a 30-goal pace per 82 games.  In four seasons with the Rangers, Panarin has 80 goals in 221 games, a 30-goal pace per 82 games.  However, he has never led the team in goals over an entire season (he is tied for fourth this season with nine goals in 35 games), but he has led the team in points in each of his three seasons preceding this one and leads this year’s club with 41 points in 35 games.  He has had his ups and downs this season, though. He was 5-11-16 in his first ten games, but then he went 21 games with but one goal (he did have 19 assists).  He has come out of that slump, going 3-3-6, plus-2, in is last four games entering this contest.  Panarin is 10-16-26, plus-8, in 24 career games against Washington.

Adam Fox has led a blessed life, and a cursed one, since he arrived with the New York Rangers in 2019-2020.  His was a career that started modestly, a third-round (66^th overall) pick by the Calgary Flames in the 2016 Entry Draft, the 18^th defensemen picked in that draft (and, it might interest Caps fans to know, later than Lucas Johansen (28^th overall) and former Capital Dennis Chowloski (20^th by Detroit)).  He would later be traded to Carolina (with Micheal Ferland and Dougie Hamilton for Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm) and then to the Rangers in April 2019 for a second-round draft pick in 2019 and a third-round draft pick in 2020.  In his 2019-2020 rookie season, with the Rangers, Fox dressed for 70 games and finished 8-34-42, plus-22, tied for second among rookie defensemen in goals, third in assists, third in points, and first in plus-minus rating.  He finished fourth in the Calder Trophy voting that year for top rookie, third among rookie defensemen.  Fox followed that up with a 5-42-47, plus-19 in 55 games of the COVID-shortened 2020-2021 season and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman.  He was the next new thing in offensive defensemen.

Or maybe not.  One of the defensemen finishing ahead of Fox in the Calder Trophy voting in 2019-2020, the Calder Trophy winner, in fact, was a youngster in Colorado – Cale Makar – a defenseman with the stick handling skills of a top end forward and well-defined hockey sense.  It is Makar, who is as close to a human highlight reel as one will find at the position, who has become the next big thing among offensive defensemen, despite similar statistics over his four seasons (55=154-209, plus-80, in 210 game) to those of Fox (31-167-198, plus-72, in 238 games).  What makes Fox’ numbers noteworthy is how quickly he has climbed up the all-time lists for the Rangers.  Among the 319 defensemen to play for New York in franchise history, he ranks 22^nd in goals (31), 16^th in assists (167), 16^th in points (198), tenth n power play points (82), and tied for ninth in game-winning goals (nine), despite ranking only 40^th in games played (238).  In 14 career games against the Caps, Fox is 1-10-11, plus-12.

1.  The Rangers have not been a dominating team on home ice this season.  Their 8-6-4 record is tied for 13^th place in points earned on home ice (20, with four other team), and their .556 points percentage ranks 19^th in the league.

2.  Scoring on home ice has been an issue for the Rangers.  Their 3.00 goals per game at MSG is the 22^nd-ranked scoring offense in the league on home ice.

3.  Scoring defense has been less than impressive, too.  New York has allowed 3.11 goals per game on home ice, tied for 17^th in the league in scoring defense.

4.  Scoring first matters in the NHL, especially on home ice, but here the Rangers have come up short by league standards.  They are 6-2-2 in the ten games in which they scored first, their .600 winning percentage tied for 22^nd in the league.

5.  If this is a one-goal contest, it could spell bad news for the Rangers. New York is 2-2-4 in one-goal decisions on home ice this season, their .250 wining percentage tied for 29^th in the league.

1.  The Caps are 12-3-1 since November 23^rd, tied for the league lead in wins over that span, second in points earned (25), and fifth in points percentage (.781).

2.  The penalty kill has been very efficient for the Caps over that 16-game span, their 84.1 percent penalty kill rate ranking third in the league.

3.  Over those 16 games, the Caps recorded 33.7 shots on goal per game (sixth in the league), allowed 28.4 shots per game (fourth-fewest), and their plus-5.3 shot differential per game ranks third ovr that span.

4.  The eight wins by three or more goals among the 12 wins in their 16-game run are tops in the league.

5.  In the 16-game run, the Caps trailed after two periods only three times, going 1-2-0 in those contests.

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

New York: Igor Shesterkin

It is not 2021-2022 anymore.  Last season, Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin finished sixth in wins (36), first among 65 goalies with at least 1,000 minutes in goals against average (2.07), first in save percentage (.935), third in shutouts (six), first in even strength save percentage (.935; minimum: ten games played), and fifth in number of games allowing two or fewer goals (31, minimum: 50 minutes played per game).  He won 29 of 32 first-place votes for the Vezina Trophy to win going away (154 votes to 53 for Jacob Markstrom) and won 24 first-place votes for the Hart Trophy as league most valuable player, the only goaltender to earn any votes.

This season, things have been different.  Of 63 goalies to date to log at least 500 minutes, Shesterkin ranks ninth in goals against average (2.44), 15^th in save percentage (.916), tied for 14^th in shutouts (one), 20^th in even strength save percentage (.924; minimum: five games played), and tied for seventh in games allowing two or fewer goals (11; minimum: 50 minutes per game).

It isn’t that Shesterkin has played badly, just that this season has put into stark relief just how special – and perhaps unique – his 2021-2022 season was. He has been rather consistent this season – 6-2-2, 2.58, .910, with one shutout in his first ten games; 4-2-2, 2.61, .916 in his next eight games.  But now, he is ramping up his game.  He is 7-1-0 in his last eight games with a 2.11 goals against average and a .923 save percentage.  Over that span is second among all goalies in wins (the Caps’ Charlie Lindgren has eight), tenth in goals against (minimum: 200 minutes), and 12^th in save percentage.  Shesterkin is 4-1-0, 2.22, .935 in five career games against the Caps.

Washington: Dylan Strome

One has to think, and Caps fans have to hope, that there is an eruption about to take place in the name of Dylan Strome.  In his first 18 games this season with the Caps, he posted five goals on 33 shots, a 15.2 shooting percentage.  With 13 points overall, he was on a pace for a 23-36-59 season.  He looked like a steal with a one-year/$3.5 million “show me” contract.  He was showing folks that an extension was merited.  But over his last 18 games he is 1-11-12, his lone goal coming on 29 shots (3.4 shooting percentage), although the goal was the game-winner in a 4-1 win over Philadelphia on December 7^th.

The Caps have not really missed his drop in output, going 12-4-2 in those 18 games.  But what sticks out in his production over those 18 games is that he is 1-8-9 in ten road games, tied for third in points for Caps on the road over that stretch.  He has not had a home or road weighted level of performance this season.  His splits are very balanced – 3-9-12, minus-4, in 17 home games, 3-10-13, minus-5, n 19 road games.  But hose minus levels are a issue.  His minus-7 goal differential at even strength overall is worst on the team this season, and in only two of his last eight games was he a plus player in this category.  It matter.  Strome has been on ice for at least one even strength goal against in 18 games this season, and the Caps are 7-8-3 in those games.  On the other hand, the Caps are 9-5-1 in the 18 games in which he was on ice for an even strength goal scored by Washington.

There is also a bordering on the bizarre fact about his ice time.  In 13 games in which Strome skated 17 or more minutes, the Caps are 4-7-2.  They are 15-6-2 in 23 games in which he skated less than 17 minutes.  It has been an odd season for the seven-year vet in some ways, although on balance he gives evidence of being productive center for years to come.  The goal scoring drought seems more hiccup than chronic malady, but Caps fans would no doubt like to see those goals flowing freely once more to give balance to that on-ice goal differential.  Strome is 1-4-5, minus-3, in five career games against the Rangers.

In the end…

On November 22^nd, the Caps were 7-10-3, seventh in the Metropolitan Division and 13^th in the Eastern Conference standings.  In five weeks, the Caps climbed into the second wild-card spot, and with a win over the Rangers in regulation in this contest would jump into the first wild-card spot and could, with a Pittsburgh Penguins regulation loss to the New York Islanders, jump into third place in the Metropolitan Division.  The Caps are in the thick of it now, and they need to stand on the gas pedal as the year comes to a close.  There would be no better place to do this than in New York on Tuesday night.

Capitals 3 – Rangers 2

 

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!! -- Game 82: Capitals at Rangers, April 29th

The Peerless Prognosticator is ON THE AIR!!!

And here we are, finishing as we started.  After 198 days since the Washington Capitals defeated the New York Rangers to kick off the 2021-2022 regular season, 5-1, we watch the same two teams ending it facing one another once more.  Their places in the postseason already secured, there is the matter of seeding.  And in this respect, even this season-ending regular season game could be a beginning.  Pending results of the Capitals/Islanders contest on Thursday night and this season ending game, Game 82 of the regular season could be what amounts to “Game 0” of the first round of the playoffs in which these same two teams would face each other.

The Rangers that the Caps are facing in Game 82 is not the team they faced in October.  At the beginning of the season, the Rangers, to the extent they were thought of as a playoff contender, seemed to have a ceiling of “wild card” among prognosticators. 

The Rangers started the season tougher, with the additions of Ryan Reaves, Patrik Nemeth, and Barclay Goodrow.  All were in the Opening Night lineup for the Rangers, none made much of an impact (no points, four shots on goal, but they did combine for nine hits).  Fast forward to now.  Of 22 players to dress for at least 20 games, Goodrow, Nemeth, and Reaves rank ninth, tenth, and 21^st, respectively in ice time per game.  They have combined for 20 goals and 53 points.  These are not awful results for bottom-six forwards with a limited role to play, and one could argue Goodrow has outperformed expectations (he is 13-20-33, plus-12, in 78 games).  But have they made the Rangers better by freeing up room for more skilled players?  To say that the answer is unsettled might be overstating their impact. 

Goodrow and Reaves are at opposite ends of the contribution scale here. Goodrow has posted career bests this season in goals (13), assists (20), and points (33), the first time in his career he has posted double digits in goals, reached the 20 assist mark, and topped 30 points.  His 67 penalty minutes is modest compared to his career high, 97 in 70 games split between San Jose and Tampa Bay in 2019-2020.  The reduction in penalty minutes has not come at the expense of expressing a physical edge within the rules, his 129 credited hits being the second-highest total of his career to date (he had 162 in 70 games in 2019-2020).

As one might expect, his secondary scoring is enough of a supplement to the offense to matter.  In the 12 games in which he has goals, New York is 10-2-0.  In the 27 games in which he has points, they are 20-4-3.  There does seem to be threshold of physicality attached to his game.  In ten games in which Goodrow was credited with four or more hits, the Rangers are just 5-5-0.  But three hits seems to be the sweet spot.  New York is 6-0-1 when he recorded that total.  Goodrow is 1-2-3, minus-2, in ten career games against Washington.

The acquisition of Ryan Reaves, in retrospect, seems to have been poorly thought out, then the damage compounded.  He was acquired via trade with Vegas in July 2021 for a third-round draft pick in the 2022 Entry Draft.  That looks like an overpayment for a player who had 49 goals in 686 career games before arriving in New York.  He also had 937 penalty minutes and a reputation as one of the most fearsome fighters in the league.  He also had 75 major penalties in those 686 games, two more than Washington’s Tom Wilson over the same span (Wilson compiled his 73 minors over that period in 569 games).  And Wilson appears to be the reason Reaves was obtained.  In fact, that acquisition, at least from this seat, looks like a response to a pair of games last season.  

The Rangers thought enough of having Reaves to keep the peace (or enhance the chaos) that they signed him to a one-year/$1.75 million contract extension shortly after his acquisition.  A hefty price tag for a 35-year old forward whose skill set is rather limited, especially when compared to a cohort of forwards 32-38 years of age with cap hits from $1.5 to $2.0 million.  The Rangers have been successful when he posted points, but he has only ten games with points in 68 games played (the Rangers are 7-3-0 in those games).  He has been reasonably disciplined this season with only three majors on his record, but in the 17 games in which he recorded penalties overall, New York is just 9-6-2.  And Ranger fans might not want to see him much on the ice.  In 18 games in which he skated at least 12 minutes, New York is 8-10-0.  Reaves is 1-2-3, minus-3, in 19 career games against the Caps.

On a team with its share o=of recognizable names, that of Braden Schneider might get lost in the noise.  He is one of five rookie skaters to play for the Rangers this season and leads that cohort in games played.  In 42 games, the rookie defenseman is 2-7-9, plus-3, in 15 minutes and change in ice time per game.  He ranks fifth overall with nine points among the 11 defensemen to dress for the Rangers this season, fifth in points per game (0.21), and sixth in plus-minus rating (plus-3).

It should be of little surprise that Schneider is contributing at age 20 at a difficult position for a Stanley Cup contender.  He was the fourth defenseman taken in the 2020 Entry Draft and in one of only four defensemen from that draft to date to appear in an NHL game.  After he was drafted he spent a final full year with the Brandon Wheat Kings in the Western Hockey League, posting five goals and 27 points in 22  games before heading to the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL for a cup of coffee at the end of the season.  He played in 24 games with the Wolf Pack this season, going 0-9-9, plus-6, before graduating to the Rangers.  It would not be unusual for a young defenseman to have a poor relationship of ice time to team success, and such is the case for Schneider.  New York is 9-8-0 in the 17 games in which he skated 15:14 or more, 19-5-1 in the 25 games in which he skated less.  He went without a point and had an even rating in his only appearance against Washington to date.

1.  The Capitals and Rangers have a history.  The Rangers were the first opponent the Caps faced in their history.  The Caps scored first (Jim Hryciuk), but the Rangers broke a 3-3 third period tie to score three unanswered goals in a 6-3 win over the Caps on October 9, 1974.

2.  The Rangers rank second in the league in scoring defense on home ice, allowing 2.28 goals per game (Carolina: 2.10).

3.  New York is tied with three other teams for fewest first period goals allowed on home ice (25).  Only Vancouver has allowed fewer third period goals on home ice (25) than the Rangers (27).

4.  The Rangers have allowed one goal in overtime on home ice this season.  Only Edmonton and Florida allowed fewer (none).

5.  Only Colorado has more wins when scoring first on home ice (26) than New York (19).

1.  This will be the sixth time in Caps history that they faced the Rangers in the season finale.  Their record overall in the first five games is 4-1-0; they are 2-0-0 in New York.

2.  This will be the 236^th meeting between the teams, the second-most games the Caps have played against any opponent (they played 240 games against Pittsburgh).  The Caps hold a 113-96-8 (18 ties) edge in the series, 51-4-4 (nine ties) in Manhattan.

3.  In 118 games at Madison Square Garden, the Caps have taken 30.6 shots per game and allowed 30.6 shots per game.

4.  Washington has six overtime goals scored in New York in the all-time series.  They have more on the road only against Montreal and the New York Islanders (seven apiece).

5.  The Caps are 19-19-4 in one-goal decisions all-time against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

The Peerless’ Players to Ponder

Rangers: Chris Kreider

It was fitting that the first goal for the Rangers this season would be scored by Chris Kreider on a power play in their 5-1 loss to the Capitals on Opening Night.  Kreider has gone on to post his first 50-goal season (52 going into Game 82), 26 of them on power plays to lead the league in that category.  Until this season, Kreider was a reliable contributor, posting six 20-plus goal seasons of the seven seasons preceding this one, but never as many as 30 goals (he had 28 in 2016-2017 and 2018-2019).  The goals came when he was more assertive shooting the puck, his 255 shots on goal in 80 games far eclipse the 201 shots in 79 games in 2018-2019 that was his previous high in that category, and more efficient in doing so, his 20.4 shooting percentage being the first time he topped 20 percent and ranking fifth in the league among 351 skaters with at least 100 shots on goal.

Krieder’s goals have not been cosmetic additions to pump up Ranger scoring, either.  He is tied for the league lead in game-winning goals (11) with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, and it is also an outlier total, more than twice as many game-winners as he posted in his next highest season (five in 2014-2015 and again in 2010-2020).  Kreider has goals in 42 of the 80 games in which he has played, the Rangers going 30-9-3 in those games (they are 21-14-3 in games in which he did not score a goal).  He has nine multi-goal games this season, as many as his previous three seasons combined. Unsurprisingly for a prolific goal scorer on a top-ranked team, Kreider’s contributions this season on offense have been one of the key ingredients to the Rangers’ success.  He is 9-6-15, even, in 34 career games against the Capitals.

Washington: Marcus Johansson

If the Capitals are going to go far in the playoffs, they are going to need contributions in layers.  There will be the skill players like Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson, and Anthony Mantha.  There will be gritty players like Tom Wilson, T.J. Oshie, Conor Sheary, Garnet Hathaway, and Nic Dowd.  And then there are the “200-foot players.” Who have to contribute offensively while being responsible and defensively honest in all three zones.  Marcus Johansson might be the epitome of that player for the Caps as they prepare for the postseason.  Head coach Peter Laviolette identified him precisely as such when the Caps traded a fourth-round draft pick in 2022, a sixth-round draft pick in 2023, and Daniel Sprong to Seattle to obtain him at the trading deadline. 

Johansson’s contributions on offense have been modest since his arrival (3-3-6, minus-4, in 16 games).  He has also been on ice for 12 even strength goals against with a minus-2 goal differential at evens, which is probably not what the team was looking for when he came on board.  However, his production has picked up with time.  He went without a point in his first six games in his return to Washington; he was on ice for five goals against at even strength in those six games and had a minu-s3 goal differential.  Since then, he is 3-3-6, even, in ten games, has been on ice for seven goals against at evens, and has a plus-1 goal differential.  One hopes that this is indicative of an adjustment curve as he becomes familiar with the schemes and strategies the Caps employ across all three zones.  But it is his continued improvement in these areas that will be a key ingredient to the team’s success in the postseason.  Johansson is 8-12-20, minus-8, in 33 career games against the Rangers.

In the end…

If this is, in fact, “Game 0” of an opening round series to come against the Rangers, this game will be an opportunity to lock in their focus on their systems and to make a statement that their road record – best in the league in wins (25, tied with four other teams), points (56), and points percentage (.718) – is no fluke.  It could also be an opportunity to plant seeds of doubt about Igor Shesterkin in goal who, despite his phenomenal numbers this season, has only one game of postseason experience (a 4-1 loss to Carolina in a series-clinching Game 3 in the 2020 qualifying round).  It will not be a meaningless game.

Capitals 3 – Rangers 1

 

A NO Point Night: Washington Capitals -- Game 53: Rangers 4 - Capitals 1

The Washington Capitals faced the New York Rangers on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden for the first time since the infamous matchup last May 5^th when the two teams combined for 141 penalty minutes and Tom Wilson cemented the everlasting wrath of the Ranger faithful two days after a game in which the teams combined for only 32 penalty minutes but featured a donnybrook in the second period that involved Wilson and the Rangers’ Artemi Panarin and Pavel Buchnevich.  Oh yeah, and there was also the T.J. Oshie hat trick in a 4-2 win over the Blueshirts in that last visit to MSG the day after his father passed away.  Oshie returned to the lineup in this game for the first time since January 15^th, when he sustained an upper body injury that caused hm to miss 14 games.  Alas, the Caps were never in this contest and dropped a 4-1 decision in one of their most sluggish performances of the season.

First Period

For almost 13 minutes, the teams fought back and forth, but 12:57 into the game, the Rangers found pay dirt, Mika Zibanejad took a drop feed from Alexis Lafreniere and fired a shot from the right-wing circle between the glove and left pad of goalie Ilya Samsonov to give the Rangers the first lead of the game.  It would be the only goal of the period, but just before the horn sounded to end the frame, the Caps drew a penalty on Ryan Strome for tripping, giving the Caps a power play to start the second period.

-- Washington outshot the Rangers, 11-7, in the period and out-attempted them, 18-13.

-- Lars Eller and Connor McMichael led the team with two shots apiece; four Caps had two attempts – Eller, McMichael, Joe Snively, and Nick Jensen.

-- Evgeny Kuznetsov was a perfect 4-for-4 on faceoffs in the period.

-- Nick Jensen led the Caps with 8:23 in ice time; Nic Dowd had just 2:47 in ice time and four shifts for the period.

Second Period

That Caps’ power play lasted 1:07 when Alex Ovechkin was sent off on a hooking penalty to even things up at 4-on-4.  Neither team registered a goal at 4-on-4, leaving the Rangers a power play.  Samsonov made a sparkling save on a redirect attempt by Ryan Strome late in the power play to keep the Caps from falling behind by a pair.  The Rangers did not convert on their abbreviated power play, and it remained a 1-0 game.

Samsonov made another great save, that being of the glove variety on Morgan Barron, which was followed up by a great save by Shesterkin on Garnet Hathaway on a breakaway.

The Caps earned their second power play of the game, when Chris Kreider took a high-sticking penalty at 14:59 of the period.  The Caps did not record a shot on goal on the man advantage, and the game moved on, still a 1-0 Rangers lead.

The Rangers doubled their lead in the 18^th minute when Lafreniere tipped a shot by Ryan Lundgren past Samsonov at the 18:48 mark.  It would be how the period ended, but not before an identical replay of the first period at the end of this one when Strome took another tripping penalty just before the horn to end the period, sending the Caps to a power play to start the third period, perhaps a crucial one to get the Caps back in this game.

-- The teams split 18 shots for the period down the middle, nine apiece; the Caps out-attempting the Rangers, 18-14.

-- Evgeny Kuznetsov was 5-for-6 on draws through two periods, as was Nic Dowd.

-- Connor McMichael led the Caps with three shots on goal through two periods; Alex Ovechkin and Justin Schultz had four shot attempts apiece.

-- Tom Wilson did not have a mark on his line of the score sheet through two periods.

Third Period

The Caps did not score on the power play to start the period, and shortly after that chance expired, they went a man short when Martin Fehervary went off for holding at 3:33 of the period.  The Caps killed the penalty and stayed within a pair of the Rangers.

Chris Kreider all but ended the competitive portion of the contest when the Caps could not clear the puck, it found it’s way to the crease, and when it squirted out to Samsonov’s right, Kreider jumped on it and snapped it into the open side of the net to make it 3-0 at the 6:57 mark.

And in the “let’s just add to the frustration” file, Shesterkin robbed Alex Ovechkin on a breakaway and smothered the puck against his jersey to prevent any rebound chance.

The Rangers made it 4-0 when they caught the Caps napping and broke out on a 2-on-1 break.  Kevin Rooney carried the puck into the offensive zone and fed Barclay Goodrow, who slipped a shot between Samonov’s pads at the 11:09 mark.

The Caps went to their fourth power play of the night at the 15:15 mark when Julien Gauthier tripped Garnet Hathaway as he was circling out from behind his net. The Caps went for the extra attacker, pulling Samsonov to make it a 6-on-4 man advantage.  Nevertheless, the Caps failed for a fourth time to convert with the man advantage.

The last bit of life the Caps displayed came shortly thereafter, Conor Sheary and Ryan Lindgren dropping the gloves, but the tussle was snuffed out in short order when the linesmen stepped in.  Both players were sent off for roughing and slashing penalties.

Alex Ovechkin ruined Shesterkin’s shutout bid when he redirected a feed from Evgeny Kuznetov from the top of the crease to make it 4-1 at the 18:58 mark.  That would end the scoring, ending the Caps’ road winning streak at five games.

Other stuff…

-- The Caps outshot the Rangers, 37-21 and out-attempted them, 54-38.

-- Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov led the team with five shots apiece; Ovechkin had nine shot attempts after a slow start.

-- Tom Wilson finished the game with a single mark on his line of the score sheet, a shot on goal late in the third period.

-- The Caps had a 31-19 edge in faceoff wins, every Capital taking more than one draw finishing at 50 percent or better.

-- Nic Dowd and Matin Fehervary led the team with three credited hits apiece.  In what was anticipated to be a physical game, the teams combined for only 41 combined credited hits, the Rangers with the 24-17 edge.

-- The fourth line of Dowd, Carl Hagelin, and Garnet Hathaway was the only line against which the Rangers did not score.

-- To no one’s surprise, John Carlson led the team in ice time with 23:05, but it was odd to see Justin Schultz on the top power play unit and not Carlson to start the third period.

-- No Capital finished the game with less than ten minutes of ice time, a bit of a rarity these days.  Hathaway had the lowest amount of ice time with 11:05.

-- Ovechkin’s goal, his 762^nd of his career, brought him to within four of Jaromir Jagr for third place all-time in goal scoring.  Strangely enough, he and Jagr are tied in career points per game (1.11).

-- The loss broke a personal four-game winning streak on the road for Ilya Samsonov.and was the first time he allowed more than three goals in a road game since giving up four to St. Louis back on January 7^th in a 5-1 loss.

In the end…

We are fond of saying that there are 20 games a team will win, no matter what, and there are 20 games they will lose, no matter what.  It is what they do with the other 40-odd games that make or break a season.  Well, this was not one of those 40-odd games.  The Caps were never in this one.  Whether it was rust from being off a week, T.J. Oshie trying to blend back into the lineup after missing 14 games, or sunspots, the Caps were never in this one.  Throw it in the trash, and move on to Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon for the last of this four-game road journey.