Round One: NY Rangers @ Washington

wprager wrote:

caissie_1 wrote:I picked the rangers... I migth be a little scared now.

And Carolina, and Calgary, and San Jose. I picked Chicago/Washington, you Cakgary/New York. Both series are 2-1. And ... I thought I had something to say but I guess I don't.

Nothing's over yet. Except St. Louis and the Habs, and very likely San Jose.

I think the Rangers will be fine. And don't forget Columbus in the almost dead category

can Varlamov keep up the magic? quite a 2 game spectacle so far for him, and to get a shut out at the Garden, not bad rook, but the job is far from over.

John Tortorella said it all in his post game interview:

"We stunk."

wprager wrote:
Nothing's over yet. Except St. Louis and the Habs, and very likely San Jose.

Tonight will tell the tale BIG TIME.

I think the Sharks absolutely destroy the Ducks, but...then again, this is the chocker's choker.

davetherave wrote:John Tortorella said it all in his post game interview:

"We stunk."

I was expecting something a bit more colorful, usually we get a swear word or too out of the great torts.

Washington 4, NY Rangers 0

	1	2	3	T
WAS	2	1	1	4
NYR	0	0	0	0

Final

7:00 PM ET, April 20, 2009
Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

Varlamov outstanding in blanking of Rangers as Caps climb back into series

Capitals Shut Out Rangers, 4-0

Associated Press

NEW YORK -- Alex Ovechkin proved that the Washington Capitals still have plenty of playoff life even though he's still searching for his first postseason goal.

The Washington Capitals have finally joined the postseason party. It took two home losses and six days, but Alex Ovechkin and the Caps stepped onto the playoff scene.

Ovechkin did plenty Monday night without finding the back of the net, and the Capitals knocked back the upstart New York Rangers with a solid 4-0 victory. Washington rebounded from a pair of frustrating home losses, got to goalie Henrik Lundqvist, and cut its series deficit to 2-1.

"It was an important game, but it's over," said Ovechkin, who led the NHL with 56 regular-season goals. "It's done. It's history. And we have to battle next game."

Ovechkin went a third game without a goal, but earned two assists for the second-seeded Capitals, who dominated the No. 7 Rangers.

Behind 33 saves from 20-year-old Simeon Varlamov, the Capitals moved into position to tie the Eastern Conference matchup Wednesday at Madison Square Garden.

"We had some lucky goals," said Nicklas Backstrom, Ovechkin's linemate who had three assists. "It's just one game. We have to regroup and come back Wednesday.

"We worked harder and we had to fight for our lives."

Despite playing only six career NHL games, Varlamov made a surprise start in Game 2 after Jose Theodore was ineffective in the opener. He was the hard-luck loser in
New York's 1-0 victory and earned the nod again. Varlamov, 4-0-1 in the regular season, made coach Bruce Boudreau's decision look brilliant with the help of Washington's potent attack.

"He's played in the finals of the Russian elite league, which to him is probably like our Stanley Cup," Boudreau said. "He's played in the world championship, and the fact that he doesn't understand a word we're saying probably really helps him."

After being held to three goals in two games, one at even strength, the Capitals showed how they ranked third in the NHL in scoring during the regular season.

Ovechkin cut down on his shooting after recording 19 shots in the first two games and having another 17 attempts blocked, and showed off his passing skills. He earned assists on Alexander Semin's two goals in the first period and was on the ice when Brooks Laich added a power-play tally in the second.

Former Rangers defenseman Tom Poti also scored a power-play goal with 1:25 left.
Ovechkin recorded five shots and was everywhere, even chasing down Lauri Korpikoski on a short-handed breakaway. At the end of a shift, Ovechkin dived from behind and deftly knocked the puck off Korpikoski's stick.

"You see the effort that he's putting in," Boudreau said. "It was a tremendous leadership play, and that's why he is who he is."

It was a fine ending to Ovechkin's day after he was shooed away from the Capitals bench in the morning when he took a seat to watch the Rangers practice. He joked that New York was afraid of him, and then gave the Rangers reason to be.

Ovechkin took the Rangers apart with the pass. He earned the second assist on Semin's first goal and made the final pass in front to set up Semin's second of the night and third straight for the Capitals in the series.

Fast Facts


• Rookie goalie Simeon Varlamov stopped 33 shots as he got the first Capitals shutout in the playoffs since Olaf Kolzig did so on Apr. 10, 2003.
• Alex Ovechkin is still scoreless in this series but assisted on both of Semin's goals and has four assists in the series.
• It was Varlamov's first career shutout in eight career games (including the postseason).
• The Capitals had lost Game 3 the four previous times they trailed 2-0.
-- ESPN Stats & Information

New York coach John Tortorella cautioned that the Rangers won the first two games despite not having the puck enough. That trend continued in the opening period, and they paid for it.

"They played very well defensively and I thought we stunk defensively," Tortorella said. "That was the key to the game. They defended very well in front of their net and we were chasing our tail all night long -- spinning and watching the puck."

Backstrom, Semin's new linemate, found him with a cross-ice pass into the lower right circle for a shot that made it 1-0 at 6:57. Semin snapped the Capitals' scoreless drought at 85 minutes, 15 seconds -- dating to his early third-period goal in Game 1.

The Rangers nearly tied it when Markus Naslund's shot from the right circle was stopped by Varlamov, and the rebound came to Ryan Callahan on the other side, but his drive at the open side hit the left post with 8:38 left.

Washington raced the other way, as the crowd groaned at the missed chance to tie. Backstrom sent a pass from the left-wing boards to Ovechkin at the goal line.

He spotted Semin in front for a quick redirect that made it 2-0 just 14 seconds after Callahan's miss.

"It definitely changed the momentum," Callahan said. "At the same time, the game is not over in the first period. We had to be better after that."

Lundqvist made 36 saves and did all he could to keep the Caps at bay, kicking out his legs, sprawling on his stomach and back and diving post to post. His best stop came when he denied Tomas Fleischmann's mini breakaway, making the save as he fell forward with 12:21 left in the second.

"It felt like they had a little more power out there," Lundqvist said. "We had two great games on the road, but we knew it would be tougher to win this one."

Washington pushed the lead to 3-0 with 8:31 remaining in the second when Laich cleaned up a loose puck at the right post after Semin bounced a shot off Lundqvist's pads.

Game notes
The Capitals had lost Game 3 the four previous times they trailed 2-0. They are 11-19 overall in Game 3s. ... The Rangers have dropped three straight Game 3s and are 32-43 overall.

Avery is a punk to end all punks. How can someone play the game in the NHL and not respect the game? How does that happen?

I'm afraid that Avery is mentally challenged in terms of his IQ (56). He'll need to be lobotomized soon.

504Heater wrote:Avery is a punk to end all punks. How can someone play the game in the NHL and not respect the game? How does that happen?

I'm afraid that Avery is mentally challenged in terms of his IQ (56). He'll need to be lobotomized soon.

Avery is just being Avery...is anyone surprised he lost it last night?

Mentally challenged though? I think not LOL...emotionally challenged...well, we already have the evidence.

davetherave wrote:

504Heater wrote:Avery is a punk to end all punks. How can someone play the game in the NHL and not respect the game? How does that happen?

I'm afraid that Avery is mentally challenged in terms of his IQ (56). He'll need to be lobotomized soon.

Avery is just being Avery...is anyone surprised he lost it last night?

Mentally challenged though? I think not LOL...emotionally challenged...well, we already have the evidence.

I think Avery has sociopathic tendencies and should be released from the NHL ASAP. I was all for NY giving him another chance, but now he's becoming an embarassement to them as well. I didn't actually think that he would pull the crap he's been pulling again. He has zero control over himself, it's really sad actually.

Does anyone think that the Caps have a chance at coming back and tying this series up? I think there is a chance, if they can solve Lundqvist tomorrow like they did last night, they're good to go to push this series to 7 games and possibly win it. Ovie has got to find the net though, holy cow!

SensGirl11 wrote:Does anyone think that the Caps have a chance at coming back and tying this series up? I think there is a chance, if they can solve Lundqvist tonight like they did the other night, they're good to go to push this series to 7 games and possibly win it. Ovie has got to find the net though, holy cow!

IMHO the Rangers have at least a 50-50 shot to go up 3-1 in the series...

As always, Stan "The Maven" Fischler offers his inimitable perspective from Manhattan:

Rangers: A Possible Sweep Goes to Sleep

Who is this Prince Varlamov?

Posted on Monday, April 20, 2009 at 11:06 PM
by: Stan Fischler GAME ON!

Now you see it.

Now you don't.

The Sweep was on.

Now it's gone.

With the Capitals returning to The Garden on Wednesday night for Game Four of the opening playoff round, the Rangers must re-adjust their focus for now they are staring at a hot, young goalie whose name -- Simeon Varlamov -- nobody could spell a week ago.

It was Varlamov who eliminated dreams of a four-straighter with 33 saves en route to a 4-0 rout. Now the trick for New York is to regain control of a series still in their grip -- two-games-to-one -- but not exactly a vise-like one. Certainly not the way New York's backline played.

"We flat out stunk defensively," says coach John Tortorella. "We need better defense in order to create offense."

And this, despite a 36-save performance from Henrik Lundqvist who pulled off at least a half-dozen sensational stops.

"Our defense had a few lapses," says Henny. "We've got to play a more disciplined game and find a way to stay out of the penalty box."

True enough. The Rangers seemed headed for the sin bin as if they thought a mother lode of gold was there. But part of the dilemma was Washington's irrepressible speed.

"They left us standing around, watching a lot," adds Marc Staal, who had a game-long battle with Alex Ovechkin that ended in a draw. "We were too hesitant."

Even more disconcerting to the Locals is the score sheet.

Where's Ovechkin? Where's Mike Green? Four goals scored by the visitors and not one from Ovie's stick nor Green's for that matter. What happens if they ever hit the mark?

So, wha' happen, baby?

"There were a number of things we DIDN'T come out with," explains coach Tortorella, "and one of them was not having the puck."

For another thing, there's a mini-Ovie in Al Semin who got the winner at 6:57 of the first period, got another a few minutes later and invariably was fed by Nik Backstrom who actually turned the game irrevocably against the Rangers with a deft touch-of-the-stick that eliminated what appeared to be a sure Ryan Callahan goal when it still was a 1-0 game.

"We knew they'd come hard right from the start," asserts Scott Gomez who was not exactly a dominant presence before an expectant crowd whose decibel count dwindled as the disappointing game unfolded. "We need to find out what we did wrong, correct it and start over."

Now the good news. New York still leads the series by a game and -- for what it's worth; and it wasn't worth a whit on Monday -- they're home again for Game Four.

"We've got to take our medicine and move on to the next game," says Tortorella. "On Monday, we got a good, old-fashioned spanking."

There were more than a few times -- playing five skaters on a side -- that Varlamov appeared out of position and downright lucky but he made all the saves and may prove to be more of a threat than a third-stringer figures to be.

"He played well," says Lundqvist. "But on Wednesday we've got to put more pressure on him."

Chris Drury,whose health remains a concern, put the defeat in rational perspective.

"It's just one game," the captain concludes. "The most important one is the next."

And if the Rangers should happen to win it; The Maven can say that he missed a sweep by only one!

What New Yorkers...and their guests from Washington...are reading this morning...

---

http://www.nypost.com/seven/04222009/sports/rangers/tortorella_issues_big_challenge_165642.htm

TORTORELLA ISSUES 'BIG' CHALLENGE
By LARRY BROOKS

April 22, 2009 --
John Tortorella laid it on the Rangers' best players yesterday, the head coach challenging his top guys to elevate their performances in tonight's Game 4 at the Garden the way that Washington's had in the Caps' 4-0 Game 3 victory on Monday.

The problem, of course, is that the Caps' best players feature the NHL's likely Hart winner for the second straight season, in Alex Ovechkin; a certain Norris finalist, in Mike Green; all-world talents, in Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin; and a former Hart winner, in Sergei Fedorov.

The problem, with the Rangers up 2-1 in the series despite having been decisively outplayed in six of the nine periods contested thus far, is that the Blueshirts have no one other than Henrik Lundqvist to match that pedigree, and Tortorella sure wasn't imploring The King to elevate his game.

"We need to get a big play at a key time," said Tortorella. "I thought [Washington's] top guys brought it up a notch, and that's what our top guys are going to have to do."

That means, as it has essentially all season, that Scott Gomez is going to have to be much crisper with his decision-making and execution on the rush. It means that Nikolai Zherdev, who had an encouraging opening 10 minutes of Game 3 before relapsing into ghost mode, is going to have to create and finish. It means that Nik Antropov is going to have to make an impact after a couple of dozy matches.

It also means that if Chris Drury can't shoot or pass, Tortorella likely is going to have to swallow hard and keep the captain in street clothes with the objective of getting him as healthy as possible for Friday's Game 5 in DC. No one doubts Drury's toughness, but it's pretty difficult to make much of a contribution playing with one arm.

If the Rangers need more from their top players, that includes Sean Avery, who has to recalibrate his game if referees are simply going to invoke their own blind justice as it applies to No. 16 whenever they please, as Dave Jackson and Kelly Sutherland did so disreputably on Monday.

Two of the four minors assessed Avery were bogus. The roughing and 10-minute misconduct Avery earned after swatting Simeon Varlamov in the mask, came after no call was made when he was knocked down into the net by John Erskine, though the puck was nowhere in the vicinity.

The NHL is on dangerous ground here. For while it's unlikely the league is directing a campaign against Avery out of its offices in New York and Toronto, it sure does appear the NHL is condoning its referees' blatant abuse of authority. That goes to the integrity of the games; the integrity of the playoffs.

Avery has to be impervious to the double standard. He has to be better with the puck on his stick. He has to stay on his feet. He needs to finish, too.

"Sean has done a really good job along the way of not letting anybody get inside him," said Tortorella. "He's trying like hell against some situations where he's really had to stay on top of himself not to get frustrated.

"Sean has to be effective, but I don't think we'll win the series if he is our best offensive player."

Probably not, but if not Avery, then who? That's kind of what Tortorella wants to know as well.

larry.brooks@nypost.com

I suspect Avery's leash will be a little shorter tonight...

shabbs wrote:I suspect Avery's leash will be a little shorter tonight...

should be another good game tonight

Big time! Huge, huge game for both teams. Wow, exciting night for sure. :****:

varlamov has been huge hasnt let a goal since second shot of game 2