The temptation is to say it's over -- all over. New York's rollicking Rangers are up three-zip in games over the Wounded Capitals, and tonight's affair at Capital One Arena appears to be a given for coach Peter Laviolette's sextet.
The temptation is to say it's over -- all over.
New York's rollicking Rangers are up three-zip in games over the Wounded Capitals, and tonight's affair at Capital One Arena appears to be a given for coach Peter Laviolette's sextet.
You would think so, looking at the completed trio of games. At a glance, the Capitals look as dead as the Quebec Bulldogs, or Toronto St. Patrick's, if you will.
WHOA! WHOA!
In the case of this series, casual glances go out the window along with the pigeons on the window sill.
I reiterate my prediction -- already argued many times over -- that New York will win The Stanley Cup. That said, it does not mean that:
1. The Caps are finished; 2. The Rangers will have them for dinner tonight.
Hear this: Over the three-game set so far, the Rangers have betrayed flaws galore. Let The Mave take you through a few, and you'll see what I'm getting at.
1. SLOPPY AND UNATTENTIVE: Go back to the Tuesday night win at The Garden, and you'll see that the Blueshirts allowed the Caps "to hang around too long," as one scout put it. Sloppiness in the NY end almost led to a blown lead and, possibly, the game.
2. SAVED BY COMRADE IGOR: The Rangers are up by three games because Iggy
Shesterkin keeps bailing them out. He did it in Game Three when Washington outplayed -- and outshot 29-22 -- the Visitors, who also took too many penalties.
3. YOO-HOO, BREADMAN, WHERE ARE YOU? The Blueshirts close to sweeping the tourney have clouded the fact that Breadman (Just One Point) Panarin has been packing a popgun and not a howitzer. I'm not calling this a sliced-bread slump, but you know what I mean.
4. WHERE'S THE DISCIPLINE?: If Washington had anything resembling a power play, the Caps would have won Game Three. Lavvy's Lads gave the Caps six-man-advantage situations. Ahem! That's just not a healthy trend.
5. WHY I'M NOT FOOLING AROUND: Go back to Game Two and recall how the
Rangers took their foot off the gas. And the other guys said, "Thank you very much," and came this close to tying and forcing overtime.
Ironically, the Islanders have served up the best lesson of all. They appeared six feet under before Game Four with Carolina. All of a sudden, they are six feet above!
Let that be a lesson to the Blueshirts. And while he's at it, Sir Laviolette can send the check to Patrick Roy, c/o UBS Arena in Elmont.