Rangers Vs. Capitals, Game 2: Early Second Period Goals Give Washington 2-0 Lead

The Washington Capitals pretty much dominated the second period in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series. They got two early goals, and allowed the New York Rangers only three shots the entire period. They lead this game 2-0 after two periods.

Early in the second, Brooks Laich went around behind the Rangers net, dragging a defenseman with him. As he fell down, he somehow got off a pass to Marcus Johansson. Johansson found Chimera in the slot, and he just ripped one past Lundqvist at 2:11 of the first period. It was Chimera’s second career playoff goal, and first since Game 4 of last year’s seven-game loss to the Montreal Canadiens.

Shortly after, Ryan McDonagh took his second penalty of the game. He was called for roughing at 2:59, just 48 seconds after the goal. The Capitals were able to get a good rhythm going, and eventually Jason Arnott slapped one past Lundqvist to make it 2-0 at 4:08. The Capitals scored twice in 1:57, and it was Arnott’s 31st career post-season goal in 108 playoff games. It was the Caps first power play goal of the series, and put them at 1-for-2 for the game, 1-for-4 overall. Rangers coach John Tortorella immediately called his timeout to settle things down.

The Rangers first shot of the second period didn’t come until 10:45 into the middle frame. Ruslan Fedotenko had a solid chance on Michal Neuvirth. Despite the respite from action, Neuvirth still looked good, making the save on the Ranger forward. Afterwords, Fedotenko high sticked Mike Green and went off for it, as the Rangers played a bit too undisciplined in the second. The Rangers were able to kill it off though. The Caps are now 1-for-3 for the game on the man advantage.

For the second straight period, the Capitals took a penalty late in the period. Alex Semin hooked down a Ranger at 18:11, giving the Rangers the end of the period to set up on the power play. The Rangers were not able to set anything up, and the Capitals killed it to the end of the period. The Rangers will start the third period with 11 seconds of power play time, and they need to make the most of the 20 minutes they have left in this one, or they’re in trouble.