Pre-Cap: Capitals vs. Rangers

Written by Reed "CK" | 26 April 2009

I sincerely hope the Capitals were watching Saturday's Game Six elimination match between the Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. Not because they should be scouting a possible second-round opponent, but more as a reality check as their own Game Six approaches.

The Flyers went up three on the Penguins, and then Philly tough-guy Daniel Carcillo got into a senseless fight with Maxime Talbot. The result? Tons of momentum for the Penguins, and sloppy, uninspired play by the Flyers. As quickly as Philadelphia had earned their lead, they gave it up, and as the time ticked off the clock in the third, their futile offensive rushes were bogged down in the neutral zone.

Exit stage left, Philly.

That's exactly what the Capitals want to avoid: getting a lead, then easing up on the Rangers. The Capitals need to have the killer instinct that, instead of wounding, wants to kill and force Game Seven at all costs.

The key points for today? They're quite obvious; Score early, make the lead as large as possible for the hapless Rangers offense to try to catch and continue to play solid defense in front of Simeon Varlamov.

We've preached daily about "making the Rangers play the Caps game," and Friday night was a perfect example. The Caps went up 2-0, and the Rangers couldn't afford to play shutdown hockey. The first goal is crucial, and on the road it could deflate the MSG crowd that is likely looking for blood after the Tortorella water bottle incident.

When the Rangers score first, it becomes a pretty sizeable advantange for the blueshirts, granted they've proven they can sit on a lead all game and let Henrik Lundqvist do the heavy lifting. King Henrik was visibly phased in Game Five, but I expect him to come back as strong as he has been all series long.

Speaking of goaltenders, it'd be criminal if we didn't mention how Simeon Varlamov has literally played his way into next season's No. 1 goalie slot. Varlamov has shown he wasn't phased by the rowdy New York crowd in the Caps' previous trips to MSG, and if he continues to be solid as a rock the Caps offense can work with a clear mind.

Of course, the giant X-factor in this game is now behind the benches, as John Tortorella will be serving a one-game suspension for his hissy-fit Friday. There's two possible outcomes from this suspension: The Rangers either crumble without their bench boss, or they rally behind their banished boss and pull off a heroic win.

While there are many positives to come from having Tortorella absent from the game, it's entirely possible that it's just one more mountain for the Capitals to climb if they want to reach Game Seven.

But, at the end of the day, who's behind the Rangers bench won't matter if the Capitals take the Rangers out of the game early.

Start fast, finish strong.

Hey that should be on a t-shirt! But basically, that's what it's going to take to win Game Six, that and a whole lotta guts.

LET'S GO CAPS!