Welcome back to the bedlam that is Capitals hockey and this series of posts.
We embark upon the sixth season that will feature numbers of the sunrise variety. Join me as we traverse the many diverging canals of a full 82 game season on the statistical gondola of truth.
The Caps got off to a hot start in an emotional opener, smacking the New York Rangers 5-1.
By Chris Cerullo 6 days ago
The New York Rangers remade their team over the offseason. They hired a new coach, got a bunch of new players, and added a lot of toughness. The team and its fans had a lot of hope heading into the season opener. Instead, they ran into a buzzsaw in the Capitals.
The Caps beat the Rangers 5-1. Alex Ovechkin scored twice and had four points. Worst yet, there was only one fight in the game and it was between Trevor van Riemsdyk and Sammy Blais. Beyond the five hits Ryan Reaves doled out, the enforcer did nothing to assert himself in the game.
Afterward, the Capitals’ social media chirped Rangers fans.
Hi. Welcome back. Hope you’re doing alright. Wild times, eh? Yeah, I’m good, hanging in there. Okay, that was a good talk. Now let’s get into it.
The Washington Capitals kicked off the 2021-22 season by soundly downing the New York Rangers. The Caps chalked up four goals before Chris Kreider cracked Vitek Vanecek’s shutout off a soft penalty in the third period. Ovi added one more, and that was not bad for one of 82.
Caps win!
By Peter Hassett 7 days ago
The Capitals-Rangers’ season opener was supposed to be a physical slugfest. Instead, it was a systematic beatdown by the Capitals both on the ice and on the scoreboard.
Alex Ovechkin scored twice and tallied four points in the win. He’s now in sole possession of fifth place in goals. Hendrix Lapierre also scored his first NHL goal.
The game was aired nationally on TNT. Highlights are below and here is Peter’s recap.
In a few short hours, the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers will drop the puck on their new seasons. And maybe their gloves too.
Wednesday’s season-opening game is expected to be both “interesting” and a little violent after the two teams had two separate line brawls last season. The Rangers re-made their team over the offseason and added a lot of toughness, including Tom Wilson-problem-solver Ryan Reaves.
Pregame, the Rangers posted what appears to be a coded message for Wilson in a Twitter photo.
By Ian Oland 1 week ago
Tonight is a huge game for the New York Rangers. With a playoff appearance an uphill battle, tonight’s game may be New York’s Stanley Cup this season.
The Rangers got remade over the offseason after the Capitals beat them up on the ice and on the scoreboard in two games in May 2021. The line brawl where Tom Wilson threw Artemi Panarin off his back and committed, in NYR’s words, a “horrifying act of violence”, broke the team’s back. Weeks later, the Rangers cleaned house among management and its coaching staff and acquired three tough guys. Barclay Goodrow, Ryan Reaves, and Jarred Tinordi will all be in their lineup tonight.
The Rangers want to erase the bad memories from last season, but what if Capitals fans don’t let them?
Twitter user @Jason_Linn21 tweeted us this idea for tonight’s game: Capitals fans en masse blanket the NYR’s glass with Tom Wilson jerseys during warmups.
Tom Wilson will be in the spotlight again on Wednesday night.
The New York Rangers made a flurry of moves this offseason to address a supposed lack of physicality in their lineup. The time has come to see if those additions will be a net positive.
By Chris Cerullo 1 week ago
The New York Rangers look to have their lines set for their season-opening matchup against the Capitals on Wednesday. Ryan Reaves is back on the ice after an injury scare last week and skating on the team’s fourth line.
Reaves had his leg buckle in an awkward collision with PK Subban during a Rangers-Devils preseason game on October 6. Reaves escaped any sort of serious injury and was said to be out day-to-day.
By Chris Cerullo 1 week ago
Not only did a Tom Wilson-inspired line brawl on May 3 between the Washington Capitals and New York Rangers infuriate the Rags and their fans, but weeks later, it altered the entire direction of the Rangers’ franchise. The Rangers cleaned house in management and brought in three tough guys over the offseason, including Ryan Reaves. It’s an open question if the moves will make the Rangers a better team next season, but one thing is for certain, Tom Wilson appeared to inspire that change.
Wednesday, former Capitals enforcer and current NBC Sports Washington analyst, Alan May, commented on the Rangers and Wilson drama during an appearance on The Rod Pedersen Show.
May brought both analysis and jokes to the interview.
The New York Rangers didn’t acquire Ryan Reaves because of Tom Wilson, according to Ryan Reaves, but I’m getting more and more skeptical by the hour.
Saturday, the Rangers posted an update of what Reaves was doing in camp.
He was teaching his new teammates how to fight.
