Hendrix Lapierre scored for the Caps. (Caps Outsider)
The Washington Capitals fell to the New York Rangers, 4-2, resulting in a four-game sweep that ended their season.
This marks the first time the Capitals were swept in the postseason since 2011 when the Tampa Bay Lightning beat them in the second round.
Despite the unlikely playoff push, Washington was just no match for the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Rangers, as New York proved to be the better team overall.
One crucial stat that hurt Washington in this series was special teams, as they went 2-for-17 on the power play throughout the series, despite having the top power play in the league since February 6th, the first game after the All-Star break, and bye week.
Even worse, the Rangers scored two shorthanded goals in Games 2 and 3, and fared much better on the man advantage by scoring on six of their 16 opportunities.
Alex Ovechkin may have had an incredible second half of the regular season finishing with 31 goals, but he was unsuccessful against the Rangers in the playoffs and was held without a single point.
Washington’s top scorer in this series turned out to be Martin Fehervary with two goals, but it’s evident that this team needs more scorers, more speed, and more quality defensemen.
Despite this first-round sweep, this was still a pretty successful season under new head coach Spencer Carbery, as the team defied expectations by even making the playoffs.
