Capitals Vs. Rangers, Game 5: Ovechkin’s Beauty Gives Washington 2-0 Lead After Two Periods

After getting his third assist on the Mike Green goal earlier, Alexander Ovechkin has finally struck again in this series, and got some 1-on-1 vengeance against Henrik Lundqvist. With a chance to end their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series with the New York Rangers, the Washington Capitals lead Game 5 2-0 after two periods at the Verizon Center. Through two periods, the Capitals have out-shot the Rangers 19-16.

The Capitals continue to dominate the Rangers in almost every aspect of the game. At 7:04, Scott Hannan sprung Ovechkin, who walked in on Lundqvist. Fans will remember that Ovechkin and Lundqvist had a 1-on-1 break-away showdown in overtime of Game 4 in this series. Ovechkin went glove hand, and Lundqvist stopped him in that match-up. This time, Ovechkin deked to his backhand, and beat Lundqvist blocker side. Ovechkin has three goals and six points in the series.

Mike Green still hasn’t returned for Washington, though he is back on the bench after getting hit in the head on a shot-blocking attempt of a Matt Gliroy slapper. He skated a couple of times during the TV timeouts, but has yet to play a shift since the injury. Green has been plagued by head injuries throughout this season. Jason Arnott also left the Capitals’ bench for a brief period of time.

The Rangers have been mixing up lines in search of finding anything that will keep them in this series. They were a little bit better in period two, getting 10 shots, but are still goal-less. Coach John Tortorella split up Marian Gaborik and Brandon Dubinsky on the first line mid-way through the second. They’ve gotten a couple of power play chances in this period, but haven’t been able to really get anything going. The Rangers are now 1-for-20 on the power play. Michal Neuvirth made his best save of the afternoon during the Rangers’ second power play late in the period, gloving down an Erik Christensen one-timer.