Photo: Nick Wass/AP

In a game where we all expected the Caps to score 50 goals and take 400 shots (given the defense pairs the Rangers dressed), the Rangers actually played pretty well. The Caps dressed their full roster, and the shorthanded Rangers weren’t the disaster that everyone expected. That said, they couldn’t get anything going offensively  –expected with the forward lines– and the Caps eventually wore them down.

Honestly, there’s not much to really take away from this game. The Rangers sat most of their roster to give them five days off. Henrik Lundqvist looked really strong, which is the only thing I care about right now.

On to the goals:

Caps 1, Rangers 0

Alex Ovechkin got the pass in his wheel house. Kevin Klein stumbled and was caught in an awkward spot. He screened Hank, and Ovechkin had the goal. The shot deflected off Klein’s hands between his legs, which impacted the route of the puck just enough to elude Hank. Figure if Klein doesn’t lose his footing, he challenges the shot better.

Caps 2, Rangers 0

Girardi trailed the offensive rush, and then got caught deep after the Caps turned the play. Oscar Lindberg and JT Miller were back, but Evgeny Kuznetsov got through them. Brenden Smith expected help, but Lindberg had lost his stick. Kuznetsov had the partial break for the goal.

Even Strength Corsi (Score Adjusted)

This was a much better performance than we all expected. But this forward group, despite the decent number of shot attempts, wasn’t getting much quality on Braden Holtby.

Scoring Chances

The Rangers had large pockets of time where they flat lined on scoring chances. Again, expected with the group they dressed. This was basically a preseason roster.

Two games left, both meaningless. Expect the Rangers to rest some guys both nights. Enjoy the stress free hockey for now.

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