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Absolutely nothing for New York: Capitals beat Rangers 4-0

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The Washington Capitals and New York Rangers waited all the way until December to get their first matchup of the 2023-24 season underway. The return of TJ Oshie to the lineup and the return of Peter Laviolette to DC were the big storylines coming into the night.

Sonny Milano got a great cross-ice feed from Martin Fehervary and gave the Capitals a lead less than a minute into the first period. Anthony Mantha tipped home a slap-pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov to double that lead. Tom Wilson sniped past Igor Shesterkin on an odd-man rush to make it 3-0.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel picked up a turnover in the slot and slung a wrister to the top corner to add to the lead again. Charlie Lindgren with his second shutout of the season.

Capitals beat Rangers 4-0!

  • The Capitals got off to a hot start and were really taking it to the Rangers for the first half of the first frame. New York responded well towards the end of the period but not before Sonny Milano potted that slick passing play to give the Caps their lead. Some of that play in the first was probably an example of this Capitals team at their best this season. More of that, please.
  • So good to see TJ Oshie back playing hockey. Even if his effectiveness on the ice has clearly waned, the dude is going to be a forever Capitals legend. Let’s hope he picks up where he left off right before getting injured and starts finding the back of the net on a consistent basis. I thought he looked great and rejuvenated in this game.
  • The Capitals sent Hendrix Lapierre down to the AHL so that they could get Oshie back into their lineup. Bears head coach Todd Nelson slotted Lapierre right back onto the line that he was on before he left in late October, between junior teammate Pierrick Dube and fellow first-round draft pick Ivan Miroshnichenko. Let’s hope all three of those dudes tear it up together.

  • The second period was more of the same. The Capitals dominated the first half of the period but let the Rangers back in towards the second half. This time though they scored on pretty much all of their big chances and went into the second intermission up four goals. A lot of volume for New York in terms of shot attempts but the vast majority was softballs coming from their defensemen at the point.
  • Evgeny Kuznetsov looked a lot more like the guy that was on the ice for the 2021-22 Capitals. You can tell Kuzy is feeling good when he’s doing things like keeping possession on the penalty kill to rag more time, trying his old twister pass, and calling for the puck so loud you can hear it on TV. I saw all of that.
  • Beck Malenstyn racing up the ice to cancel the icing which led to Nicolas Aube-Kubel’s goal needs to be highlighted. One of the unsung type plays that doesn’t always lead to a goal so we gotta point it out when it does. I don’t think that line should play as much as they do but they always, always work hard.
  • That penalty call on Rasmus Sandin was a joke. Artemi Panarin initiated the hold and got bodied so he draws the call? And, it’s the ref all the way down the ice that calls it instead of the ref two feet from the play? I hate the game management crap officials do when a team has a big lead.

  • The Capitals completely shut down the game in the third. The Rangers got nothing from the slot until maybe the final 10 seconds of the period.
  • Charlie Lindgren with his second shutout. How does that one taste, brother Ryan?
  • Jacob Trouba is very lucky that Sonny Milano pulled out of their collision in the third or otherwise he would have likely been seeing some supplemental discipline. That guy loves toeing the dirty hit line which is ironic given how much of a fit the entire Rangers organization threw about Tom Wilson.

The Capitals will get right back to business on Sunday night as they’ll travel to Chicago to take on Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks. Chicago is also playing the second half of a back-to-back in that game so the amount of rest will be even for both teams.

Headline photo courtesy of @curtk/X

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