NEW YORK -- And so they meet again. For the fifth series in seven seasons and for the ninth series overall, the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals square off in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The Rangers come into the second-round series well-rested and as the top seed by virtue of their Presidents' Trophy-clinching regular season. Meanwhile, the Caps went seven games against the New York Islanders in Round 1 before punching their ticket to the Eastern Conference semifinals. This matchup always seems to be an entertaining one, with one of the game's best goal scorers in Washington's Alex Ovechkin facing one of the elite goaltenders in New York's Henrik Lundqvist. Buckle up for what should be a fun series.
BIG LOSS: The Rangers will be without one of their most dynamic offensive players for an undetermined amount of time, with forward Mats Zuccarello sidelined indefinitely after taking a slap shot to the head last week in Game 5 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Zuccarello was a key contributor for the Blueshirts last spring, when he finished third on the team in postseason points with five goals and eight assists. It is not immediately clear whether Zuccarello might be available later in the series, though it sure sounds as if the Rangers are not expecting him back any time soon.
BACK IN ACTION: On the brighter side, the Rangers will have veteran defenseman Kevin Klein in the lineup for the first time since he was sidelined by a broken arm on March 11. Klein will add depth and experience to the Rangers' back end, and you can never have too much of that at this time of year. Despite some questions surrounding the status of fellow blueliner Keith Yandle, he will be ready to go in Game 1 vs. the Capitals.
ROOKIE SENSATION: Washington's Evgeny Kuznetsov was the breakout star of the first round for the Caps, with the 22-year-old scoring in some big situations against the Isles. In Game 5, Kuznetsov delivered a three-point performance to fuel the Caps' 5-1 win. An even bigger moment was when the rising young star notched the winner in Game 7 to clinch the series for the Capitals.
RANGERS
Rick Nash - Derick Brassard - Martin St. Louis
Chris Kreider - Derek Stepan - J.T. Miller
Carl Hagelin - Kevin Hayes - Jesper Fast
James Sheppard - Dominic Moore - Tanner Glass
Keith Yandle - Kevin Klein
Henrik Lundqvist
CAPITALS
Alex Ovechkin- Nicklas Backstrom- Joel Ward
Marcus Johansson- Evgeny Kuznetsov- Jason Chimera
Andre Burakovsky - Jay Beagle- Troy Brouwer
