The New York Rangers knew they would get a desperate effort from the Washington Capitals in Game 2 at Madison Square Garden.
And by all accounts, the Capitals came to play. They kept things close, but the Rangers skated out to a 4-3 victory to improve to 2-0 in the series. That was more like the effort most expected from the Caps, especially after playing must-win hockey against teams like the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders down the stretch.
Scoring the first goal of Tuesday night’s game was crucial for the Washington Capitals.
“I think the first goal, especially on the road, is very important – in playoffs in general, if you can get that first goal – that means you got momentum on your side,” T.J. Oshie said before the game. “Playoff games are all about momentum shifting back and forth. The longer you can keep it – the better.”
The Capitals had as strong of a start to the game as they would have liked, but a couple of mistakes would end up costing them shortly.
“That’s the frustrating part, we’ve been so good in those situations all year,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said. “This is a whole different animal – playoffs, opponent, and all that stuff.”
To the Rangers’ credit, instead of letting the poor start affect them mentally, the group showed a ton of resilience. Vincent Trocheck was a big reason why. The veteran forward was the recipient of the 2024 Steven McDonald Extra Effort Award, a fan vote for a Ranger that goes above and beyond the call of duty. Trocheck has been that X-Factor all year, and he got them going tonight a little less than three minutes after falling behind.
His goal and assist in the first period helped uplift the team, while – along with linemates Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere – brought loads of energy.
“There’s going to be times that we go down in the playoffs, but we can’t let that affect the way you play your game – especially if it’s an early deficit,” Trocheck said.
You always look for different guys to step up offensively in the playoffs. At the trade deadline, the Rangers felt they could use a little boost to their top line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. They went with Jack Roslovic, who tallied his first career playoff goal in a critical moment of the game. Roslovic had a beautiful catch-and-release power-play goal at the 12:26 mark of the second period to give the Rangers the lead back.
“That’s a high, high-end elite play. You got to tip your cap,” Carbery said about the Roslovic goal.
The difference in this series thus far has been the Rangers big-time players showing up. Zibanejad, Trocheck, and Lafreniere each recorded three points while Panarin and Kreider have a goal apiece. On the flip side, the Capitals are still waiting for Ovechkin to get going, with one of the league’s all-time best goal-scorers registering just one shot through two games.
“I thought the first two games he looks a little bit off, he’s struggling,” Carbery said. “There’s two things that I notice when he’s struggling. In a game, 5-on-5 and even I group the power play with him – he should on a nightly basis get four or five looks. Whether they go in or not, that’s the first part is he’s not getting those looks. The second thing I see is his shot are getting blocked. That’s where I say, “Ok, it’s off just a touch.”
While the Capitals are heading home in a tough spot, Carbery still has a ton of hope for his group.
“He’s been through so many situations like this – I expect him to step up big time in Game 3,” Carbery said about Ovechkin. “I liked our start. I’m going to focus on a lot of the positive things that we did and try to build off that at home in Game 3.”
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