New York Rangers sweep Washington Capitals, advance to second round of NHL playoffs
The New York Rangers and new coach Peter Laviolette already have more playoff success than last season's team.
The Rangers became the first NHL team to advance to the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs, beating the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Sunday night to sweep their first-round series.
Vincent Trocheck, Artemi Panarin and Jack Roslovic scored power-play goals as the Rangers swept a playoff series for the first time since 2007.
The Rangers were knocked out in the first round last season by the New Jersey Devils, leading to coach Gerard Gallant's firing. Laviolette led the team to a franchise-record 114 points and the best record in the league.
Though President Trophy winners often don't have much playoff success (the record-setting Boston Bruins were stunned in the first round last season), the Rangers have looked good so far in the postseason.
New York finished third in power play and penalty killing in the regular season and continued that success against the Capitals. The Rangers scored six power-play goals and two short-handed goals in the series. They killed off all six Capitals power plays in Game 3 and went 2-for-2 in Game 4.
The Rangers showed off their depth as 10 different players scored in the series. They kept Capitals star Alex Ovechkin off the scoreboard and limited him to no shots on goal in Games 1 and 4 and one shot in Game 2.
What's next for the New York Rangers?
They will face the winner of the Carolina Hurricanes-New York Islanders series. The Hurricanes lead the series 3-1 as the Islanders stayed alive with a 3-2 double-overtime win on Saturday. Game 5 is Tuesday in Raleigh, North Carolina.
The Rangers went 2-1 against the Hurricanes and were 3-1 against the Islanders during the regular season. Laviolette previously coached both of those teams – as he had with the Capitals.
What's next for the Washington Capitals?
Spencer Carbery replaced Laviolette as coach during the offseason and led the Capitals led to the playoffs after a one-year absence. They clinched in their regular-season finale but will need to boost their offense after finishing 28th overall in the regular season.
The longtime core of No. 2 all-time goal scorer Alex Ovechkin, Tom Wilson, T.J. Oshie and defenseman John Carlson remains, but Nicklas Backstrom (injury) and Evgeny Kuznsetsov (trade) are out. Leading scorer Dylan Strome is signed for four more years. Forwards Max Pacioretty and Nicolas Aube-Kubel are pending unrestricted free agents.
Backup goalie Charlie Lindgren supplanted Darcy Kuemper as the No. 1 goaltender and has one year left on his contract at $1.1 million. He's eligible for an extension after July 1. Speedy Hendrix Lapierre has another year left on his entry-level contract. Connor McMichael and Beck Malenstyn are restricted free agents.