The New York Rangers took a commanding 3-0 in the first-round NHL playoff series by defeating the Washington Capitals 3-1 on Friday (April 25) at the Capitol One Arena.
John Carlson put the Capitals on the board in the first period with a goal five minutes into the game. It was his 20th career playoff goal. The only active defensemen with as many tallies are Kris Letang (23), Brent Burns (23) and Victor Hedman (22).
The Rangers answered back with goals from Chris Kreider and Barclay Goodrow to take a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. With his 67th career playoff point, Kreider moved into a tie with Rod Gilbert for third place on the Rangers’ all-time playoff points list.
Barclay’s goal came shorthanded and marked the second time in the past two games that the Blueshirts have gotten a score with down a man. This was just the fourth time in Rangers history they have notched a shorthanded goal in consecutive playoff games since this stat was officially tracked in 1933-34.
The Rangers extended their lead to 3-1 in the third period when Vincent Trochek executed a perfect give-and-go with Mika Zibanejad to score on the man advantage.
Igor Shesterkin made 27 saves in the victory and picked up his 16th career playoff victory, tying John Davidson for the fifth most in Rangers team history.
With an 84.5 clip, the Blueshirts finished with the third-highest penalty kill percentage in the NHL and continued that strong special teams play tonight, shutting down all six Capitals attempts with the man advantage.
The Rangers became the third Presidents’ Trophy winner in the last ten years to win each of their first three playoff games, joining Washington, which did it in 2016, and Colorado, which did it in 2021.
The Capitals will look to avoid the sweep and series elimination when they host the Rangers on Sunday, April 28th. It will be a tough task as the Rangers own an all-time series record of 5-0 when leading 3-0 in a best-of-seven series.
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