The Washington Capitals are looking to take a commanding 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series with the New York Rangers. Through the first period, however, neither team has truly taken command, and we have a 0-0 tie after 20 minutes at Madison Square Garden. Washington out-shot the Rangers, 8-7 in the first.
Capitals Vs. Rangers, Game 3: Heavy Hitting In A Scoreless First
It was fairly pedestrian early on, but the Rangers started to turn things up and get physical with Washington. The line of Sean Avery, Brian Boyle and Brandon Prust in particular were able to lay the body on every Capital they could. New York out-hit the Capitals 21-16 in the opening period. A quirky thing happened midway into the period when Avery broke his own stick before a faceoff by simply leaning on it. It was one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen.
Matt Gilroy, the only Ranger with a goal in this series, got the first penalty of the game, when he was called off for a hold at 15:01. The Capitals got two shots on the man advantage, but failed to get anything out of it. Henrik Lundqvist made two solid saves. Washington is not 1-for-6 on the power play so far in this series.
The Rangers got 1:25 of a 5-on-3 to end the period. Matt Hendricks went off for interference at 17:20. Early in the power play, a Mike Knuble clearing attempt exploded his stick and put the puck into the crowd. He was given a delay of game at 17:55. The Rangers were too tentative early in the power play and when they finally got it in deep, Michal Neuvirth stood tall. The Capitals killed off both minors, with the second one being shortened by Erik Christensen taking a goaltender interference minor. The Caps will get 1:43 of power play time to begin the second.
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