The Washington Capitals are one victory away from clinching the second wild card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. They’ll make the dance with a win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.
Awaiting them in the first round of the playoffs, if they clinch a postseason berth, will be the New York Rangers. The very same Rangers team coached by Washington’s bench boss from last year, Peter Laviolette.
The Rangers won the President’s Trophy this season as the best team in the NHL, after shutting out the Ottawa Senators 4-0 in their regular-season finale. New York amassed a 55-23-4 record, good for 114 standings points.
Presidents’ + Eastern + Metro.
Now, let’s get to work. #LGR pic.twitter.com/pCpIeQg1da
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 16, 2024
In head-to-head action against the Rangers this season, the Capitals went 2-2, matching New York in goals with nine apiece over the four matchups. The Capitals’ most dominant showing was their first home outing in the season series on December 9, a 4-0 shutout featuring 31 saves from Charlie Lindgren.
From a process perspective, the Capitals played the Rangers relatively well. At five-on-five in their four games, the Capitals held 50.6 percent of the shot attempts, 50.4 percent of the expected goals, 52.6 percent of the scoring chances, and 46.6 percent of the high-danger chances.
Pitting Laviolette against his former team in the playoffs would be the biggest storyline heading into a potential series. Laviolette failed to get the Capitals out of the first round in his first two seasons in charge of the team and then led them to their first playoff miss last year since the 2013-14 campaign.
The veteran head coach and the organization decided to mutually part ways just days after last season ended as Laviolette sent the Capitals tumbling to their worst 82-game season in 16 years. This season’s roster features players like Connor McMichael, Alex Alexeyev, and Aliaksei Protas whom Laviolette either once completely cast aside or had deployed in limited roles.
The series would be the 10th between the Capitals and Rangers in league history. The Capitals hold a 4-5 record in the previous series and four of the last five series have all gone to seven games. The two sides haven’t matched up with each other since 2015 when Derek Stepan scored in overtime of Game Seven to send the Capitals packing in the second round.
Since winning the Stanley Cup in 2018, the Capitals have not won a single playoff series, going 0 for 4.
