There will be no shock early exit for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning club in the 2024 Playoffs. The New York Rangers made quick work of the Washington Capitals, defeating them 4-2 on Sunday night in Game 4, sweeping the first round series in the process. The Rangers await the winner of the New York Islanders-Carolina Hurricanes series, whereas the Capitals are left to wonder what might have been.
Rangers Pounce Early, Stay the Course
It is often said that the fourth game is the hardest to win. While that may be true in some instances, on Sunday night the Capitals made the task easy on the visiting Rangers by coughing up the puck in their own zone less than a minute into the contest, with Kaapo Kakko making good on the opportunity. To its credit, Washington wouldn’t go down that easily. Martin Fehervary levelled the terms with a nice wrist shot in the first period and, after New York claimed a 2-1 lead, Hendrix Lapierre scored on an impressive individual effort in the second period by circumventing the Rangers defense and cashing in on his own rebound.
Related: Rempe, Rangers Frustrating Capitals Physically in First-Round Series
Perhaps fittingly, the game and series-winning goal would come from Hart Trophy hopeful Artemi Panarin early in the final period on the power play. Beyond the fact that New York’s most notable offensive weapon netted the all-important goal, it was the club’s fifth power play marker of the series. They finished 5-for-16 through four contests and scored two shorthanded goals as well (Games 2 and 3). As if the hockey gods wanted to emphasize to extent to which special teams favored the Rangers in this sweep, Washington took a penalty with less than three minutes remaining with their entire season on the line.
Peter Laviolette’s group now gets to lick their wounds and enjoy watching their Eastern Conference rivals beat each other up for a few more days before Round 2 commences.