The Rangers, en route to their franchise-record 55 wins and 114 points in the regular season, didn’t bring a lot of weaknesses to their game entering the playoffs.
If there has been an Achilles’ heel, though, it’s been their offensive production at full-strength five-on-five.
For the regular season, they were ranked 21st in the NHL in expected goals percentage in five-on-five at 49.27 percent. Their 166 goals in five-on-five ranked as the 13th-most in the league.
Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (10) celebrates after scoring a goal in the second period against the Washington Capitals in game one of the first round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden. Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports They, too, had just a one-goal differential in five-on-five and were ranked 25th in the league in high-danger shots with 153.
This is part of what made Sunday’s Game 1 victory over the Capitals so promising: The Rangers scored all four of their goals in the 4-1 win in five-on-five circumstances.
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The Rangers, who can be prolific on the power play, were actually 0-for-2 with a man-advantage in the game. So, it was their even-strength game that was a strength Sunday.
“Game 1 it was big for [the Capitals] to come into our barn here and we made a statement,’’ Rangers center Alexander Wennberg said Monday. “We did a great job, scoring four goals on five-on-five. That’s a big key to our success.’’
Alexander Wennberg moves the puck down ice in the 1st period against the Devils on March 11. Charles Wenzelberg / New York Post The Rangers were still buzzing Monday about their penalty kill, which snuffed out four Washington power plays without yielding a goal Sunday.
“We put a lot of focus on it and obviously did some scouting,’’ Wennberg said Monday. “We talked about being aggressive and being committed to our plan. We did a good job the first game. We just tried to stay aggressive.’’
The Rangers’ penalty kill was tested early with Matt Rempe sent off for charging just 2:07 into the game.
It was then when the Rangers set the tone for the game.
“It started off with the PK right away and I think that was a great start for us to come out right from the get-go and do a good job,’’ Wennberg said.
“They did a terrific job,’’ coach Peter Laviolette said of his team’s penalty kill. “You’re talking about a lot of pieces to that [Capitals power-play] group that have a lot of history together, chemistry together, with really good players and one of the greatest goal scorers ever [Alex Ovechkin].’’
Ovechkin pairs with fellow veteran T.J. Oshie and Connor McMichael on the top line and Dylan Strome leads another alongside Tom Wilson and Aliaksei Protas.
“That’s a challenge every night, so there’s a lot of work that goes into it,’’ Laviolette said. “It’s a point of emphasis now. This is a time to really sharpen things — a time to sharpen the penalty kill, sharpen the power play, sharpen the five-on-five.’’
Washington coach Spencer Carbery on Monday lamented his team’s powerless power play in Sunday’s game.
“I thought we struggled getting though [the Rangers’] pressure at the blue line,’’ Carbery said. “I thought we were a little bit disconnected when we had them on the ropes. Can’t happen. We’ve got be cleaner there.’’
Ovechkin was held without a shot on goal for only the fourth time in his career in the playoffs.
“He’s playing some hard minutes against [Vincent] Trocheck, [Alexis] Lafreniere and [Artemi] Panarin,’’ Carbery said. “That’s the matchup that [Laviolette] is looking for. Those are tough minutes. You’re playing against one of the top five-on-five lines in the NHL. We’ve got do a better job of finding a way to counterpunch that and create opportunities.’’
Carbery said no decision has been made on the status of Capitals defenseman Vincent Iorio, who was knocked out of Sunday’s game with an upper-body injury by a Lafreniere check in the second period and didn’t return.
The Capitals were already without defensemen Nick Jensen (upper body) and Rasmus Sandin (upper body) for the game. That meant John Carlson playing a game-high 27 minutes. Carbery said he’ll “evaluate’’ the injured players after Tuesday’s morning skate to see if they can play Tuesday night’s Game 2.
