NEW YORK — With Rangers rookie Will Cuylle barreling toward him less than a minute into Game 4, Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen lost possession deep in Washington’s zone. The puck slid right toward Kaapo Kakko in the slot, and the Finnish winger had to react quickly.
“It happened fast,” he said after the Rangers’ 4-2 win.
Kakko briefly thought about trying to take a stride or two toward Washington goalie Charlie Lindgren, but he instead one-timed a shot on net. The puck beat Lindgren, giving the Rangers the lead 57 seconds into the evening.
Just like that, a goal had fallen into New York’s lap. This first-round matchup had, too.
Quick start for the Rangers – Kakko capitalizes off the turnover for a 1-0 lead pic.twitter.com/SEQL8PS5PZ
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) April 29, 2024
After winning the Presidents’ Trophy, New York drew as easy an opponent as it could have hoped for in the opening series. The Rangers took full advantage, sweeping a playoff round for the first time since 2007. The Capitals played the Rangers closely in Game 4, but the teams’ talent gap was apparent most of the series. Washington is a group at a different stage than the all-in Rangers, with the Capitals brass focused more on the future than the present.
Washington, led by aging star Alex Ovechkin, had the worst goal differential (minus-37) of any playoff team in the salary cap era. Its front office shipped away Joel Edmundson, Anthony Mantha and Evgeny Kuznetsov at the trade deadline. The Rangers’ degree of difficulty to advance past the first round was much less than a year ago, when the Devils beat them in seven games.
The Rangers earned a relatively easy opponent by finishing the regular season with the league’s best record. That doesn’t always foretell success; just ask the Bruins who lost to the Panthers last year after a historic regular season. Rewards only matter if a team can make the most of them. The Rangers did, and now they will get a breather waiting for other series around the league to wrap up.
“It gives more time for rest, getting healthy,” said Artemi Panarin, who had a goal and an assist in the clinching Game 4. “But we’ve got to be ready. Sometimes it’s harder to stay focused when you have too many days.”
Added coach Peter Laviolette: “There’s a real value in that where you can start to look at both opponents until you find out which one you’re actually going to play.”
New York will face a more formidable opponent in the second round. Barring a Carolina collapse, the Rangers will have a 2022 second-round rematch against the Hurricanes, who had the second-best regular season record in the Eastern Conference and currently hold a 3-1 first-round lead. Even if the Islanders come back, they proved to be a stronger team than Washington throughout the regular season.
The Rangers’ first true test is waiting.
“I think we’ve been building toward (the playoffs), and I think we can be better,” Mika Zibanejad said.
There are plenty of strong tendencies New York should aim to carry into the next round. The Rangers’ special teams were excellent. They converted on 37.5 percent of their power plays and killed off 88.2 percent of Washington’s. As Capitals defenseman John Carlson said, “When you look at the numbers, there’s nothing more telling.” Vincent Trocheck in particular stood out, scoring a pair of power-play goals and adding a short-handed assist.
The Rangers’ special teams numbers were again likely aided by the opponent. Washington’s power play and penalty kill units both ranked in the bottom half of the league in the regular season and failed to gain any momentum against New York.
Laviolette also got a strong series from his top line of Chris Kreider, Zibanejad and Jack Roslovic. Zibanejad had a team-high seven points, and Roslovic and Kreider each scored two goals. The team in general had offensive balance, with 10 players scoring a goal. And though Kakko’s third line only scored once, the Rangers had more than 67 percent of the expected goals with them on the ice, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Going forward, the Rangers will likely need more five-on-five production from Laviolette’s top offensive trio: Panarin, Trocheck and right wing Alexis Lafrenière. Panarin, the team’s leading scorer in the regular season, had only one even-strength point in the four games. His line broke even in expected goal share, but only barely (50.72 percent). New York leaned heavily on that group to score during the regular season and likely will need to again as the playoffs continue.
“I can’t say we played bad,” Panarin said before echoing Zibanejad’s sentiment. “We played good, but I think we can play better.”
New York has a potential advantage in net in every series. Long gone are the January days when Igor Shesterkin was struggling. The 28-year-old had a .931 save percentage in the series, allowing 1.75 goals per game. He made several instrumental saves in the Game 4 win, including one on Dylan Strome immediately after Kakko’s opening goal and another on Beck Malenstyn shortly after a Capitals’ power play expired.
When at his best, Shesterkin is arguably better than any goalie in the league. The Rangers and goaltending coach Benoit Allaire have him playing at that level. Shesterkin pointed to areas in which he wants to improve next round — rebound control and being more confident playing the puck — but Laviolette called his level of play excellent.
“He seems to be tracking everything really well,” the coach said. “He seems to be seeing the whole ice surface, not just the puck or the play. he sees what’s behind him on the other side as well.”
If he’s playing that way, the Rangers go from a strong, well-rounded team to a scary one. That’s what they’ll need to be to reach their goals these playoffs. The series win against the Capitals was a start, but far tougher tests await.
(Photo: Geoff Burke / USA Today)
