Washington Capitals host New York Rangers in game 5, look to wrap up series – NHL playoffs
The fifth game of the quarter-final series will be played at the Verizon Centre this Saturday as Washington Capitals face New York Rangers.
The Rangers gave the Capitals a lot of scare in the first game after which the Capitals have been quite impressive. They have managed to put themselves in a position where they are just one win away from reaching the semi-finals.
This is the exact same position that the Capitals were in last time against the Montreal Canadiens. However, this time they will be hoping to do better and move forward. The last game between the two teams was very close and the Capitals rallied back to
score after two overtimes to win the game 4-3 in the end and lead the series 3-1.
The Capitals needed to shift gears in the last game as they were 3-0 down but they gave it their best shot and successfully scored thrice to level the scores before the end of regulation time.
The Capitals did not have the sort of start that they wanted. However, they would not mind that as long as they won the game. Unfortunately, it looks as if the Caps will be without the services of Mike Knuble for the second game in a row. Knuble missed the
fourth game of the series after sustaining a hand injury. There is a strong likelihood that he will miss the fifth game.
“I call myself day-to-day,” Knuble said when he was asked about his injury. “You've got to do your best to stay in shape and keep your conditioning or whatever. [Game 5] is up in the air -- we won't know until (Friday) or maybe even Saturday morning, Saturday
game time.”
The Rangers on the other hand will be heartbroken after the last defeat they had to suffer. The game saw the Rangers coming up with quite a brilliant display in the first two periods but they could not manage to continue the same performance in the final
period.
The Rangers need to forget that as soon as possible if they want to keep their chances of a comeback alive. They always face this problem where they tend to lose concentration in the final period.
However, the Rangers will try to come out better and not play for 40 but 60 minutes with full concentration.
“It's been tight games, no question. If we weren't unlucky, it could've been a different story,” said goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who will make his 31st straight start. “But it is what it is. We're down 3-1. We have to accept it. I think we all
believe in each other and believe we can do it. That's where it starts.”
The Rangers need to win if they want to stay in the postseason while the Capitals can move into the semi-finals with a victory.
Tags: