Washington Capitals conquer “the King”

For two consecutive nights the Washington Capitals squared off against some off the National Hockey League’s finest talent, and both of those nights the Capitals shined, as they conquered the mighty New York Rangers as well as the Nashville Predators.  The Caps made quick work of the Rangers jumping out to a 3-0 second period lead, and never looking back, as they cruised to a 4-1 victory.  This win was primarily special as the Rangers and goaltender Henrik Lundquist eliminated the Capitals in their last two-playoff appearances.  Lundquist had been a puzzle the Capitals were unable to solve in the past two post seasons, but on Sunday, Washington conquered “the king.”

Dec 8, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Washington Capitals center Mikhail Grabovski (84) scores on a penalty shot against New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (30) during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports

The Capitals opened the scoring early in the second period, when Jason Chimera finally finished in front of the net with a swarm of Ranger defenders surrounding him.  Then, just 25 seconds later, Steve Olesky ripped a wrist shot from just before the blue line, beating Lundquist.  Washington added insult to injury when Mikhail Grabovski let loose a slapshot that found the back of the net.  With Braden Holtby playing exceptional between the pipes, Washington continued to extend the lead into the third period, when Nate Schmidt added a tally to make the score 4-0.  Finally, New York broke the Holtby shutout, by scoring with just under two minutes remaining in the contest.

Washington has proved to be a rather streaky team so far in 2013-14.  The team has done a wonderful job stringing together major wins, but has also endured several puzzling loses.  If you’re a Caps fan, you simply don’t know which Washington team will show up night in and night out, but you should always expect an exciting night of Hockey.