Washington Capitals-New York Rangers Semi-Final Series Preview –NHL Playoffs Special
Washington Capitals surprised the whole nation when they eliminated defending Stanley Cup champions, Boston Bruins, from the playoff race right in the opening round. Now going up against New York Rangers in the 2012 National Hockey League (NHL) Playoff Semi-Finals,
it will be exciting to see whether they can continue working towards the goal.
New York ended off as the top seeded team in the Eastern Conference but they did not have an easy time against eighth seed Ottawa Senators and barely got through after a seven game series.
Capitals also kept the stakes high until the last moment and emerged victorious when the dust settled.
“It’s what hockey’s all about,” says Caps coach, Dale Hunter. “Winning in overtime in the seventh game. That’s something special, and well-deserved by our guys.”
This will be the third time in four years that Washington and New York will be meeting each other but it is the other way around now. Rangers were where Capitals are now in terms of rankings and got through to the next round, but Washington seems to be full
on eliminating after taking down a team like Boston.
“When you look at their team, and I mentioned numerous times, I don’t believe they’re a seventh place team. There’s too much talent on that team to be that, and they righted the ship at the right time, and they’re playing some great hockey right now, and
that’s what it seems to be all about in the playoffs nowadays,” said Boston coach, Claude Julien, about Washington.
What will give New York Rangers the win?
New York Rangers need a number of their players to step up and take charge. Brad Richards failed to impress during their series against Ottawa Senators while the others had to come out into the open.
Brian Boyle had a better series but was knocked out by Ottawa’s Chris Neil with a concussion, missing the final two games. Also, Chris Kreider, who came straight from college, emerged as a great forward player for New York and has been scoring some crucial
goals for the team.
Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan will need to step up their game if New York has plans on moving forward because there is only so much veteran goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, will be able to take against an offensive team like Washington.
What will give Washington Capitals the win?
There is only one man right now that can lead Washington not only past this series, but to a Stanley Cup, and that is their young recall goalie, Braden Holtby.
Holtby has played beyond expectations as he outperformed a goalie like Tim Thomas, and become just the third goalie in history at that age to eliminate a championship defending team in the first round of playoffs.
With a .940 save percentage and 2.00 goals-against average, Holtby is the x-factor for Washington and if he performs like he did against Boston, Capitals could be making a run for the cup.
Prediction
New York Rangers will take the series in six games.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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