The New York Rangers evened the series with the Washington Capitals with a very strong 3-2 win in Game Two. This was a completely different Rangers team throughout the game, as they forced the Caps to play their game. The Rangers were aggressive on the forecheck, forcing turnovers, and using a combination of rushes and strong zone play to wear down the Caps and get quality scoring chances.

Braden Holtby and Henrik Lundqvist were unreal in this game. Holtby made 29 very difficult saves, and Lundqvist made 34 saves. Both had a bunch of highlight reel saves (all available on www.nyrgifs.com), but Hank made the save of the season with a spinning cartwheel save on Evgeny Kuznetsov:

I can watch that save all day. But this series is certainly nerve-wracking. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.

On to the goals:

Rangers 1, Caps 0

 

This was the Rangers hockey we didn’t see in Game One. Kevin Klein with the stretch pass that Chris Kreider tipped into the zone. Derek Stean got to the puck, turned, and found Jesper Fast streaking to the net, having beat Brooks Orpik to the punch. Braden Holtby made that save, but John Carlson didn’t track Kreider, who was there for the rebound.

Rangers 2, Caps 0

The powerplay was clicking in the first period, with the Rangers being much more decisive, moving around, and generating opportunities. An attempted clear by the Caps died on the boards, allowing Dan Boyle to chase it down before the zone was cleared. Rick Nash was in front, having just got knocked down, to provide the screen on Boyle’s shot from the point. Holtby didn’t even see it.

Caps 1, Rangers 2

Evgeny Kuznetsov made an innocent dump in, but Keith Yandle got beat to the puck off the boards by Jason Chimera, who found Kuznetsov –who had beat Boyle in a foot race– trailing the play for the goal.

Rangers 3, Caps 1

derick brassard

Courtesy of www.newyorkrangersgifs.com

Nash forced a turnover at the Rangers blue line, then quickly got the puck up to Martin St. Louis at the Caps blue line. Carlson closed on MSL, but he was able to throw the puck to the slot, which deflected off Orpik’s stick to Derick Brassard. Brassard was able to sneak his shot through Holtby.

Caps 2, Rangers 3

alex ovechkin

Courtesy of www.newyorkrangersgifs.com

Honestly, there’s not much that can be done here. Ovechkin is that good, and that was an unreal goal.

USAT/Fenwick Chart:

rangers capitals playoffs 2015

Courtesy of war-on-ice

The Rangers were all over the Caps to start the game. Eventually Washington woke up, taking it to the Rangers in the second and eventually tying the game. They went toe-to-toe for the rest of the game. These are two very evenly matched teams.

Scoring Chances:

rangers capitals playoffs 2015

Courtesy of war-on-ice

Much like the shot attempts chart above, the Rangers dominated early, the Caps came roaring back.

Individual SAT/Corsi:

rangers capitals playoffs 2015

Courtesy of war-on-ice

The fourth line had a great game, as did McDonagh and Girardi. McDonagh/Girardi got most of the time with Ovechkin and still came out ahead in the puck possession battle, which I find to be amazing. Aside from his highlight reel goal, the Rangers did a great job of shutting him down. Plus, Kreider laid him out once:

chris kreider

Courtesy of www.newyorkrangersgifs.com

And then Staal laid him out later:

marc staal

Courtesy of www.newyorkrangersgifs.com

Always fun to see.

Shot Locations:

rangers capitals playoffs 2015

Courtesy of war-on-ice

This is a stark contrast from Game One, where the Rangers were limited to the outside for most of their shots. This time around, almost every single shot was from a high quality area on the ice. The Caps still got a lot of chances from dangerous areas, so that’s not a good sign.

Shift Chart:

rangers capitals playoffs 2015

Courtesy of war-on-ice

Alain Vigneault did a better job of matching up his defensive pairings on Ovechkin. It was rare when Barry Trotz got Ovi out against the Yandle/Boyle pairing, usually after an icing. There were a lot of complaints about how much ice time the fourth line received, but considering how they played, I’m relatively ok with it. They wouldn’t be my first choice in the last two minutes of 6-on-5 hockey, but it worked.

Side note: AV doesn’t really trust Sheppard, and trusts Glass a lot. The third period ice time shows this.

This was the type of game that the Rangers need to continue playing if they want to beat the Caps. Game One was an abomination in the first two periods, as the Caps slowed the pace and beat up on the Rangers. The Rangers will win track meets, the Caps don’t have the depth to match them. Game Two was a solid win, and now they need a win or two in Washington.

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