Capitals Fall To Rangers, 4-2, Swept In First Round Of 2024 Postseason


Photo: X/@Capitals

The Washington Capitals fell to the New York Rangers, 4-2, Sunday night at Capital One Arena in Washington. The loss completes the Rangers sweep of the Capitals, 4-0, and ends the Capitals 2023-24 campaign.

The Rangers opened the scoring just 57 seconds into the contest when Kaapo Kakko capitalized on a Nick Jensen turnover to make it 1-0. The Capitals tied the game on Martin Fehervary’s second goal of the postseason at 14:54 of the frame, but the Rangers answered with a power play goal from Vincent Trocheck with just 15 seconds remaining in the period for a 2-1 lead at the first intermission.

The Capitals tied the game on a beautiful rush and rebound shot by Hendrix Lapierre (1) at 7:48 off the middle frame, making it 2-2, and that was it for the middle frame.

T.J. Oshie took an early high-sticking penalty in the final frame, and the Rangers once again capitalized. Artemi Panarin (2) scored the go-ahead tally just 11 seconds into the man advantage. The Rangers added an empty net goal in the final minute for the 4-2 win.

LINEUP

Charlie Lindgren (0-3-0, 3.77 GAA, ,864 sv%) got the start in goal for the Capitals. Igor Shesterkin (3-0-0, 1.67 GAA, .933 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the visiting Rangers. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin – Hendrix Lapierre- Sonny Milano
Aliaksei Protas – Dylan Strome – Tom Wilson
Max Pacioretty – Connor McMichael – T.J. Oshie
Beck Malenstyn – Nic Dowd – Nicolas Aubé-Kubel

Martin Fehervary- John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin – Nick Jensen
Alex Alexeyev- Dylan McIlrath

Charles Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper

Scratches: Trevor van Riemsdyk, Lucas Johnson, Vincent Iorio, Hardy Haman Aktell, Mitchell Gibson, Mike Sgarbossa, Ethan Bear, Ivan Miroshnichenko.

1ST PERIOD

The Rangers opened the scoring just 57 seconds into the contest. Following a Nick Jensen turnover, Kaapo Kakko dented the twine for a 1-0 lead.

The Capitals tied the game on Martin Fehervary’s second goal of the postseason at 14:54 of the frame. Aliaksei Protas (2) and Dylan Strome (1) had the helpers.

The Rangers added a late power play goal to make it 2-1. Vincent Trocheck scored his third goal of the series with just 15 seconds remaining in the frame.

The first period concluded with the Rangers leading, 2-1. New York led in five-on-five shot attempts, 19-17, but the Capitals led in scoring chances, 11-5, high-danger chances, 3-0 and expected goals for .85 to .64.

2ND PERIOD

The Capitals tied the game on a beautiful rush and rebound shot by Hendrix Lapierre (1) at 7:48 off the middle frame. Alex Alexeyev (1) had the lone helper.

The second period concluded with the game tied 2-2. It was the first time in the series the Rangers did not lead going into the third period.

The Capitals led in five-on-five shot attempts, 18-13, scoring chances, 9-4, high-danger chances, 4-2 and expected goals for .78 to .27.

3RD PERIOD

T.J. Oshie took an early high-sticking penalty, and the Rangers once again capitalized. Artemi Panarin (2) scored the go-ahead tally just 11 seconds into the man advantage at 3:21.

The Rangers added an empty net goal in the final minute and that was all the Rangers needed, as they held on for the 4-2 win.

SHAVINGS (Via Capitals PR)

  • Martin Fehervary scored his second goal of the series to tie the score 1-1. Fehervary’s three points (2g, 1a) in four games are tied with Tom Wilson (1g, 2a) for the team lead.
  • Dylan Strome recorded his first assist of the postseason on Fehervary’s game-tying goal.
  • Hendrix Lapierre scored his first career playoff goal to tie the score 2-2 in the second period. Lapierre is the third different Capital to score their first career postseason goal this series (also Connor McMichael and Martin Fehervary).
  • Alex Alexeyev, Washington’s first-round pick in 2018, recorded his first career Stanley Cup Playoff point and assist on Lapierre’s goal.
  • This is the Capitals first sweep since 2011 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

By Jon Sorensen

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.





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