Superstar showdown, brothers battle and more Rangers-Capitals storylines

There is no shortage of layers to this first-round matchup between the Rangers and Capitals, who will square off in Game 1 at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Madison Square Garden.

While this may be the first playoff meeting between the two clubs in nine years, after they clashed five times in the span of seven seasons from 2009-2015, the current team connections and recent history should make for an intense series.

It’ll be the New York state of mind versus our nation’s capital.

Artemi Panarin versus Alex Ovechkin.

The No. 1 seed in the midst of a championship window versus the 17th-ranked club that squeezed in for one more go before an inevitable rebuild.

Facing the Capitals at the start of arguably their most important postseason of late could be an opportunity for the Rangers to exorcise a demon that may or may not still be there.

For this is the opponent that just under three years ago, directly or indirectly, influenced the Rangers organization to start on the path to where it is now.

The Post’s Mollie Walker analyzes the top-5 storylines to follow going into the Rangers-Capitals series:

The Tom Wilson test

One of the more prominent villains of the Rangers’ recent history has been Tom Wilson, ever since the Capitals’ notorious agitator crunched ex-Blueshirt Pavel Buchnevich’s neck under his stick and ragdolled Panarin in a violent scrum on May 3, 2021.

The incident, which the Rangers vehemently condemned by calling for the head of the NHL’s department of player safety’s job in a team statement after Wilson wasn’t suspended and instead fined just $5,000, turned out to partially serve as a catalyst for the dismissal of the club’s managerial duo and head coach in John Davidson, Jeff Gorton and David Quinn.

There was this notion around the NHL that the Rangers were soft, and then-incoming president and general manager Chris Drury seemingly made moves with that in mind.

It all had a lasting effect on how the Rangers go about protecting one another now.

This series is by no means about Wilson, who will undoubtedly have more than just a physical impact on the matchup.

It will, however, be about showing just how far the Rangers have come since that infamous two-game battle — the second of which featured a three-on-three line brawl.

There will be a nasty element to this Round 1 battle and the Rangers will want to be the ones setting the tone this time around.

Laviolette faces his Caps

There was some extra underlying disappointment from Peter Laviolette in the aftermath of the Rangers’ 4-0 loss to the Capitals in their first meeting of the season on Dec. 9, which also was the head coach’s first time facing the team he had coached for the previous three seasons.

The shutout loss was bad enough, but Laviolette clearly wanted that first one back in Washington after the Capitals ousted him after last season, when they missed the playoffs for the first time since 2014.

It currently represents one of the least-successful stints of Laviolette’s 22-year NHL coaching career.

Lots of blame was put on Laviolette’s usage of young players, while the club’s mounting injuries were also considered to be too difficult to overcome. But the 59-year-old is not at all far removed from this Capitals team.

It’ll be interesting to see how Laviolette approaches the series from a strategic standpoint.

He obviously has some insight into the Capitals’ team dynamic and players’ tendencies, which could help him devise an even more detailed game plan and steer the Rangers in the right direction.

The Lindgren series

Brothers Ryan Lindgren and Charlie Lindgren will square off in the playoffs for the first time in their NHL careers.

While it’ll be Ryan’s fourth postseason ride with the Rangers, Charlie will be experiencing the NHL playoffs for the first time with the Capitals.

As important as Ryan is to the Rangers defense, Charlie has been the Capitals’ most important player down the stretch.

From starting the season as the backup goalie to essentially carrying Washington to the finish line — playing in 17 of the final 18 games — Charlie’s ascension in the NHL at age 30 has been remarkable.

He won two of the three games he played against the Rangers this season, including a 31-save effort in the shutout victory.

Fourth-timer Chris Kreider

After Chris Kreider made his NHL debut in the first round of the playoffs in 2012 against the Senators, the second team he ever faced was the Capitals, who the Rangers beat in seven games before they lost in the conference final to the Devils.

This will now be the fourth time Kreider sees Washington in the postseason.

He has yet to lose, with the Blueshirts also prevailing in seven games in 2013 and 2015.

As the longest-tenured Ranger, alternate captain and crucial contributor, Kreider has a potentially career-defining postseason on deck. One that will have a lasting impact on his Rangers legacy.

Artemi Panarin vs. Alex Ovechkin

All eyes will be on Artemi Panarin this postseason, after the Rangers star wing obliterated his previous career highs in goals and points in the first 100-plus point campaign of his nine-year NHL career.

More so than in response to his regular-season success, Panarin needs to prove he can be an impactful player at the most important time of year after struggling the previous two.

At the age of 38, Alex Ovechkin will come into the series 41 goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky as the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer.

He may be coming off one of the worst regular seasons of his 19-year career, but Ovechkin will be one of — if not the most — seasoned playoff player on the ice.