That guards-The Capitals series is changing, at least in part, on the performance of each team’s star: while Mika Zibanejadthe best player in game 2, is flying to the Blueshirts, a team from Washington Alex Ovechkin has been practically invisible.
It’s no surprise that Rangers have an advantage, two games to zero, in the best-of-seven first round. new York beat the Caps, 4-3, Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden. Zibanejad’s play isn’t the only reason the Rangers are ahead, of course.
But he really came into his own in Game 2, whether it was picking up Ovechkin’s pocket to force a turnover and starting a sequence that led to a shorthanded goal or scoring on the power play to give the Rangers their first lead in yet another comeback victory.
Zibanejad even created havoc on the penalty long before setting up K’Andre Millerwas the shortie of the second period, generating several chances in the first period that made it seem like a shorthanded goal was inevitable.
“Mika has been amazing for us, especially these last two games, doing a lot of different things for us, on the power play, on the PK, at five-on-five, late in the game, early in the game, whatever. you mean,” Miller said. “He’s really been a special player for us and we’re grateful to have him.”
Just how special he has been was evident in Miller’s goal. Zibanejad surprised Ovechkin, who had the puck near center ice. Zibanejad picked up the puck and headed toward the Caps goal. He passed the puck to Chris Kreider, which caught the Capitals’ attention, and Kreider returned the puck to him. Then Zibanejad slid the puck to a trailing Miller, who scored, giving the Rangers the 4-2 lead they needed.
“I don’t understand how Mika sees me there,” Miller said. “It’s an unreal piece of his. And Kreids took out three of his guys, bringing all the attention to him, and I was sneaking into the pipe and trying to get something.
Overall, the night saw Zibanejad score his seventh career power play goal in the playoffs with the Rangers. It was also his 13th multi-point playoff game as the Blueshirts tied Kreider and Walt Tkaczuk for the fifth most in team history.
His strong play might just be the tonic if he’s less than happy with his regular season, in which he finished fifth on the Rangers in scoring. A year after scoring 39 goals and 91 points, Zibanejad had 26 and 72 this season.
No one will ever remember the lower totals if the Rangers go on a deep playoff run. And they’ll need this version of Zibanejad to do it.
And to close out this series, they may have to continue to silence one of the greatest scorers in NHL history – Ovechkin, whose 853 career goals are second only to Wayne Gretzkyis 894.
Ovechkin may be 38 years old, but he still led Washington with 31 goals this season. He’s obviously still dangerous, but he’s only had one shot on goal in his first two games. Several other attempts were blocked and at least two simply went wide of the net.
Rangers coach Pedro Lavioleta wasn’t revealing anything about stopping Ovechkin. “He is a player who can make a difference in the game,” said the coach. “You know, I think we’re aware of that and we do our best.”
Cap Coach Spencer Carbery acknowledged that Ovechkin “seems a little strange. He’s fighting. The coach noted that the Caps will be able to manage line matchups at home — Game 3 is Friday night in Washington — and that could help free up Ovechkin.
Carbery noted that Ovechkin, on most nights, “should get four or five looks, whether they go in or not. … He’s not getting those looks. Plus, the coach said, the Rangers are effectively blocking their shots — they blocked five in Game 1 and three in Game 2.
Still, Carbery added: “He can turn things around. That’s one thing about O. He can turn everything around in a game and now suddenly make a difference. I hope he takes a step forward.”
Will he be in Game 3? We’ll see. The Capitals were much better in Game 2 than in Game 1 and continue to try to throw the Rangers into chaos with aggressive play. If Ovechkin starts scoring, it would help make the series tighter.
But the Rangers have relaxed their depth – they have eight different scorers in the first two games. They got a goal from their best goalscorer, Artemi Panarin in Game 1, and a huge hit by Panarin in Game 2. Yes, the Rangers have been aggressive too.
And they had a decisive game from Zibanejad, one of their greats. So far, at least, he’s a star of this series who’s made a big difference.
