Two days off in this 2011 first round NHL playoff series has probably been bad for the hockey aspect between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals, but it has been great for the off the ice controversy, as a war of words has erupted in the press after Capitals' head coach Bruce Boudreau took a few choice shots at the Rangers' home arena.
Capitals Vs. Rangers, Game 4: New York Looks To Even Series At Home
The teams will reconvene at that arena, Madison Square Garden, tonight for Game 4 of this series. Washington leads the best-of-seven, two games to one.
The news on the Capitals side is not getting more encouraging after their Game 3 loss. The team will likely be without the services of Mike Knuble, one of the Caps' goal scorers in Game 3, due to what may be an injured right hand.
The injury was kept mysterious by Bruce Boudreau, but Brooks Laich may have spilled the beans with these quotes, via Dump N' Chase:
“It’s just an opportunity for someone else,” says Laich, “maybe myself, maybe I move from the point to in front, I don’t know what’s going on yet. That’s usually where the goals are scored and Mike leads the way in that department.
“He’s also a big factor in the penalty kill and in 5-on-5. He really embodies a lot of how we want to play around here. We’ll have to step up while Mike’s not in the lineup.”
This loss is going to be tough to overcome for Washington, as Knuble has been a consistent, gritty presence in the Capitals' top six forwards. Eric Fehr will play in Knuble's absence, getting into his first game of the series. Michal Neuvirth once again starts for Washington.
Everything appears to be the same for the Rangers. Henrik Lundqvist will be in goal, Sean Avery appears to be in the lineup. They just have to keep forcing the Capitals' hand, and continue to be in the right place at the right time. Game 3 showed that it isn't always the perfect play that gets goals in the post-season.
The game gets under way at 7 p.m. ET. We’ll be live-updating here. In the meantime, check out Japers’ Rink and Blueshirt Banter for team-focused updates.
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