After a heart-wrenching first-round exit from the 2023 postseason, the New York Rangers came back with a vengeance in the first-round of this playoffs.
The Rangers swept the Capitals on the strength of a 4-2 in Sunday night's victory in Washington. Artemi Panarin's power play early in the third period broke a 2-2 tie and put the Rangers ahead for good, while Igor Shesterkin made 23 saves. New York captured the Presidents' Trophy with the best regular-season record, finishing at 55-23-4 (114 points) as they just edged out the Dallas Stars.
Once again, the Washington Capitals star Alexander Ovechkin had virtually no impact in the game. For the second time this series he had no shots on goal, and he failed to register a single point in the sweep.
As a team, the Rangers outscored the Capitals 15-7 is the series and will face the winner of the series between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Islanders, who still find themselves in a 3-1 hole after their 3-2 overtime victory on Saturday. Game 5 of that series will be Tuesday night at Carolina.
(1) New York Rangers vs. (WC2) Washington Capitals
Game 1: | Rangers 4, Capitals 1 | Recap
Game 2: | Rangers 4, Capitals 3 | Recap
Game 3: | Rangers 3, Capitals 1 | Recap
Game 4: | Rangers 4, Capitals 2 | Recap
