Rangers-Capitals Preview

Lets face it, this is going to be an extremely offensive series. At least that is how I see it. Both teams have the run-and-gun style that should be entertaining. In my view, these are the keys to success for the Rangers in the first round matchup:

Goaltending: Did you see this one coming or what? Lundqvist needs to stand on his head, as usual, but especially in this series because I really don't see the pace slowing down too much until late in the series.

Shutdown Defenseman: Guess who? Mr. Staal. Guess who he needs to shut down? Mr. Ovechkin. Marc is certainly capable of closing the door on Ovechkin with a blue collar approach, but Ovechkin is also capable of blowing the doors off Staal too if he is going on ALL cylinders. If Staal can shut down Ovechkin then I see him getting a ton of props from around the league.

Depth Player Performance: I hate to say it but I see the edge going to Washington here. We have valuable players on lines 2 through 4, but how can anyone confidently say that they will bury the puck in the post-season? I hope they do, you know Callahan will, and I hope Dubinsky carries forward his late season momentum with GOALS, not just assists. Remember that guy Nylander? He's a third liner on Washington, oh boy.

Reducing Odd Man Rushes: This will be huge. With Tortorella's new system, Rangers defenseman will be pinching constantly. The key will be to pinch intelligently, just as they did down the stretch. Remember that the coach made that change with about 5 or 6 games left by pulling back the reigns and having them pinch a tad less. If the Rangers can continue on this fine line, then I like their chances. If they give up the odd man rushes on a regular basis to the likes of Ovechkin, Federov, Backstrom and Nylander, then it could be a short series.

Can't wait for it to start tomorrow. In my view, the Rangers have the edge in my first 2 keys above, and the big questions remain in my last two points. So lets drop the puck so we can get this underway. By the way, not sure if you saw the 2009 Draft Lottery tonight, but congrats to NY Islander fans, this was your playoffs, and you won the #1 pick.