Henrik Lundqvist stood tall in goal again for the Rangers, while Alex Ovechkin couldn’t break through. (Getty Images)

By Sarah Kwak

OK, so after seeing that wondrous Bruins comeback against Toronto, a game for the ages, the deciding contest between the Rangers and Capitals was — comparatively speaking — a bit of a dud. If you chose to watch the Rangers and Caps over that epic clash, well, I really hope you were getting paid to do it (like me).

Anyway, before Game 7, New York coach John Tortorella predicted that the stars of each team would be the deciding factors and would be the ones to step up and carry their teams. Well, it didn’t go exactly that way Monday night. Yes, Tortorella’s biggest star, goalie Henrik Lundqvist, was glittering once again, making 35 saves and shutting out the Capitals for the second night in a row to send his team to the second round. But Lundqvist can only do so much himself without goal support. Well, the 31-year-old Vezina finalist finally got it, but from unexpected sources. Arron Asham, Taylor Pyatt and Michael Del Zotto built a comfortable lead for New York through two periods on the way to an eventual 5-0 win. Aside from Lundqvist, it was the Rangers’ role players that carried this team to the second round.

Some other observations:

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Rick Nash has been quiet, but the Rangers need his offense against the Capitals in Game 7. (Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Five quick thoughts on the players and situations that could have an impact on tonight’s Rangers vs. Capitals matchup in Washington (8 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network), one of two decisive games on tap tonight:

1. Ovechkin’s struggles: If Alex Ovechkin was looking for a way to make people forget his lousy start to the season, he’s found it: a lousier finish. The spectacular second half, the record-setting April, the Rocket Richard Trophy, the MVP nomination … none of that will mean anything if Ovechkin fails to steer the Capitals clear of another early playoff exit. It’s not a question of effort — he leads the series with 29 shots on goal and offered up a strong 200-foot game in Sunday’s 1-0 loss in New York — but there are no medals for trying hard at this time of year. Ovie gets paid to score goals, and he’s gone five games now without lighting the lamp. Excuses? Sure. He’s been blanketed by Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh, and Henrik Lundqvist has been in beast mode. But this is a lousy time to be needing excuses. If he can’t stop the streak from going to six, Ovechkin is likely to carry this dry spell into next season.

MUIR: Five keys to Maple Leafs vs. Bruins 

2. Discipline, discipline, discipline: The Caps have given the Rangers 26 power play opportunities in this series — more than any other team — and while it hasn’t cost them dearly (just two goals), there’s no upside to gambling. And it’s not just the threat of offensive retribution that makes Washington’s lack of control an issue. It’s that it disrupts the flow of the Caps’ own offense, as was obvious on Sunday when they took five minors to none for the Rangers. This has to be a turn-the-other-cheek game for Washington.

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Henrik Ludqvist made 27 saves in the Rangers’ shutout Game 6 win over the Caps. (Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)

By Sarah Kwak

The last minute of Game 6 between the Rangers and Capitals was playoff hockey in a nutshell. Tense, desperate, nerve-wracking, New York clung to its razor-thin, 1-0 lead to force a Game 7 in Washington on Monday night. In those frenetic final seconds, with the Capitals’ net empty and all their fearsome scorers on the ice, the Rangers blocked shots, made hits and did everything they could to help out Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers’ spectacular goalie stood tall and saved the day for New York yet again, shutting out the Capitals for the first time this postseason.

Some thoughts and observations from Game 6:

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Mike Ribeiro scored the game-winning goal in overtime to give Washington the series lead. (MCT/Getty Images)

By Sarah Kwak

For the fourth-straight game in this series, one goal separated the two teams. The tight contests have made for fast-paced, tense hockey, never more so than on Friday night in Game 5. All tied after regulation, the overtime period offered a continuous string of gasps. The crowd collectively held its breath as Washington and New York traded scoring chances, but when Capitals center Mike Ribeiro scored 9:24 into overtime, the release was monumental. He was standing on the doorstep just to the right of Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s cage when a point shot that was blocked in front rebounded right in front of him. Ribeiro easily swept it in, giving Washington the 3-2 series lead and setting off an eruption from the crowd and the Capitals’ bench that nearly blew the roof off of the Verizon Center.

Some thoughts and observations from the Capitals’ 2-1 OT win:

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Alex Ovechkin (right) was largely hemmed in by the efforts of Rangers defenders such as Ryan McDonagh. (AP)

By Brian Cazeneuve

NEW YORK  – After returning to New York down 2-0 in their series against the Washington Capitals, the Rangers regained their footing with a 4-3 win in Game 3. Another victory by the same score followed in Game 4 on Wednesday, and just like that, a series that once looked lopsided is all knotted up at two games apiece.

Here are some more thoughts and observations from the game:

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Rick Nash (61) finally made a significant contribution by assisting Derek Stepan’s winner. (Scotty Levy/Getty Images)

By Brian Cazeneuve

NEW YORK — After being held to one goal while losing the first two games of their opening round series in Washington, the Rangers went home and got an emotional boost from the return of defenseman Marc Staal, who had not played since March 5 because of a brutal eye injury he suffered when he took a slap shot to the face and went down in a writhing heap. Staal, who replaced Steve Eminger in the lineup, was paired with Anton Stralman and tested on his second shift when Capitals forward Troy Brouwer plowed him into the sideboards. Staal emerged unhurt and the Rangers went on to snap a long scoring funk, get their power play back on track and hold off the Capitals for a crucial 4-3 win. The Rangers’ Game 3 victory cut the Capitals’ series lead to 2-1.

Here are some more thoughts and observations from the game:

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Winning goal-scorer Mike Green is one many options the Capitals have on the power play. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

By Sarah Kwak

The key to the Washington Capitals’ success in this series was always going to be patience in the face of New York’s stifling defense and goalie Henrik Lundqvist. On Saturday, after 68 minutes of trying to get a shot past the Rangers’ Vezina Trophy winner, the Caps finally broke through on a power play. Set up at the point, Caps defenseman Mike Green took a feed from Mike Ribeiro and whipped a one-timer that barely caught Rangers center Derek Stepan before hurtling past Lundqvist for a 1-0 overtime win at the Verizon Center that gave Washington a 2-0 series lead.

It was yet another demonstration of this team’s power play prowess. Though the Rangers had been much better about staying out of the box than they were on Thursday night, a delay of game call in OT proved to be their undoing. Here are some more observations from Game 2:

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Alex Ovechkin scored Washington’s first goal in its 3-1 Game 1 victory over New York. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

By Sarah Kwak

How far the Capitals have come since their dreadful start to this season. After a mesmerizing second half of the campaign, Washington brought its momentum right into the postseason, defeating the Rangers in Game 1 at the Verizon Center, 3-1.

The Capitals are a very different team than the one that took the ice in January. With a new coach and a new system to absorb on a compressed schedule, Washington seems to be a team that has finally begun to feel that it knows what it’s doing, and New York will need to up its game if it wants to make this a series. The Rangers need to better their power play and their 34.5 win percentage on face-offs in the offensive zone, and they’ll need to avoid the box.

Some observations from the first 60:

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Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers must find a way to cool white-hot Alexander Ovechkin. (Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)

By Sarah Kwak

EAST PREVIEWS: Pens-Islanders | Canadiens-Senators | Capitals-Rangers | Bruins-Leafs

WEST PREVIEWS: Hawks-Wild | Ducks-Red Wings | Canucks-Sharks | Blues-Kings

Regular-season recaps

Feb. 17: Rangers 2, Capitals 1

March 10: Rangers 4, Capitals 1

March 24: Capitals 3, Rangers 2 (SO)

Notable injuries

Capitals: C Brooks Laich (sports hernia, indefinite); RW Joel Ward (knee, indefinite)
Rangers: D Marc Staal (eye, indefinite); C Brian Boyle (leg, indefinite); RW Derek Dorsett (shoulder, day-to-day); LW Ryane Clowe (upper body, indefinite)

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Did Mike Milbury’s barbs drive Alexander Ovechkin to the barber for a more down-to-business hairdo and mindset? (Patrick McDermott/NHLI via Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Don Cherry’s critics are going to have a field day with this one.

Asked about the remarkable turnaround of Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, the bombastic TV star offered up a unique take.

“Mike Milbury, I think, deserves a lot of credit here,” Cherry said on Toronto’s Fan 590 radio station. “He’s not getting it. He’d come on and he ripped Ovechkin – he should be ashamed of himself, boom boom boom, and called him every name – and that’s when Ovechkin changed.

“And if you people have noticed – and I haven’t said it on Hockey Night in Canada, I might yet – have you noticed after a game, he just gives it a [fist] pump?” Cherry asked. “Have you noticed that? Have you noticed he’s got nice short hair, he doesn’t look like a wild man anymore? Adam Oates has got to him and said look, get off this celebrity thing. And what happened was, he was more of a celebrity than he was a hockey player. He forgot.

“And you know, when I went to the Bruins, that’s the same thing happened to me — I got there, they had gold chains on and all that stuff, and they were celebrities there, they forgot to play hockey. They loved the life, they loved the travel, the only thing that got to them, they didn’t like the hockey. And you know, that’s what made Bobby Orr great, and I’ll tell you why: he had no businesses, he did nothing, all he wanted was to play hockey. And that’s the name of the game and Ovechkin’s right there now. He’s playing hockey instead of being a big-time celebrity.”

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