The Rangers forced Game Six on Friday night, with Chris Kreider tying the game late and Ryan McDonagh scoring the overtime winner. The Blueshirts have another do or die game tonight in Washington, needing a win to send it back to New York. That, of course, is no easy task, but this team has shown they can come from behind before.
The Rangers finally managed to beat Holtby for a few, and it came on the exact same kind of play: A shot from the slot with traffic in front, after making Holtby move laterally. It’s not going to be easy beating him, but that seems to be the recipe. Bodies in front, make him move, and get shots through.
Kevin did a nice run down of how the Caps play today, Justin broke down how to beat Braden Holtby, Chris did a full preview of the series, and I wrote about why shadowing Ovechkin isn’t the right move. If you haven’t checked those out, you should. They are good reads while waiting for the game to begin.
Caps Systems
Under Barry Trotz the Caps run a 1-1-3 lock or a 1-2-2 forecheck, which they use aggressively or conservatively depending on the game situation (e.g., puck location, the score, etc.). In the defensive zone, Trotz runs your standard zone defense. On special teams, the Caps employ a 1-3-1 power play, and a diamond/box hybrid penalty kill depending on puck location and opposition setup.
Caps Lines
Alex Ovechkin-Nicklas Backstrom-Joel Ward
Marcus Johansson-Alex Kuznetsov-Jason Chimera
Andre Burakovsky-Jay Beagle-Troy Brouwer
Curtis Glencross-Brooks Laich-Tom Wilson
Brooks Orpik-John Carlson
Karl Alzner-Matt Niskanen
Tim Gleason-Mike Green
PP1: Ovechkin-Backstrom-Brouwer-Johansson-Carlson
PP2: Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Ward-Glencross-Carlson
PK: Laich, Brouwer, Fehr, Ward, Backstrom, Orpik, Carlson, Niskanen, Alzner
Braden Holtby gets the start.
Rangers Lines
Rick Nash–Derick Brassard–Martin St. Louis
Chris Kreider–Derek Stepan–Jesper Fast
Carl Hagelin–Dominic Moore–Kevin Hayes
Tanner Glass–J.T. Miller–James Sheppard
Ryan McDonagh–Dan Girardi
Marc Staal–Dan Boyle
Keith Yandle–Kevin Klein
PP1: Kreider-Stepan-St. Louis-Brassard-Boyle
PP2: Nash-Hayes-Miller-McDonagh-Yandle
PK: Stepan, Nash, Girardi, Staal, Moore, Fast, Hunwick, Boyle, Hagelin, Yandle, McDonagh
Henrik Lundqvist is in net.
Scratches/Injuries: Mats Zuccarello (concussion), Matt Hunwick (healthy)
Crazy Prediction: The Rangers send it back to New York.
Be sure to check out our ticket link if you’re looking for tickets to the game. Game time is 7pm on NBCSN.
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