Game 1 Caps vs. Rangers 4-15-2009 Preview

Series B: Washington Capitals (50-32; 108 points; 1st Southeast Division, 2nd Eastern Conference, 4th Overall) vs. New York Rangers (43-39; 95 points; 4th Atlantic Division; 7th Eastern Conference, 12th Overall):
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals Game #1, Caps Game #1, Home Game #1, NHL Game #121

Verizon Center, Washington, DC. 7:08 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WJFK 106.7-FM, WTOP 1050-AM. New York TV: MSG. Radio: WEPN 1050-AM. Canadian National TV: TSN. NHL Center Ice: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic feed.

Tonight the Caps begin the second season for the second season in a row when they face the New York Rangers. The Rangers did not fare very well on the road this season, posting a 17-24 record. They lost both games in the Phone Booth during the regular season and only the Columbus Blue Jackets lost more road games among playoff qualifiers this year. As a matter of fact, the Rangers have lost their last four games at the Verizon Center.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post: it's showtime, pest control, Moscow on the Potomac, key player. Times: still searching, second chance, backing up, injury misinformation, series preview. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire. Caps AP Wire. ESPN.com.

Open Source Intelligence:

MSG. Newsday. New York Daily News: punchless offense, memories, bulletin board material. New York Times. Rangers.com.

Open Source Stupidity:

New York Post.

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

Well folks, we've arrived at the moment we've all been waiting for since April 22nd, 2008. We're back in the playoffs and for the Caps, they've been waiting for this moment for so long, we have to wonder just how are they going to handle it. Will they be trying to end this series tonight or will they apply the lessons learned last year and take tonight's game by itself? Everybody is looking at Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore and A.O. and wondering how they are going to perform in this series. But equally important will be how do guys like Brooks "and Dunn" Laich, Boyd Gordon, David "Bolt Cutter" Steckel, and Mr. Donald Brashear play. Remember Mr. Brashear scored the first goal last year. Will Tomas Fleischmann, Eric Fehr, and Viktor Kozlov show up too? The Caps will need the secondary scoring to come through with all of the attention being paid to A.O. and the rest of the top two lines and because Henrik Lundqvist can steal a series all by himself. This is what this team has been obviously been waiting for since beating the Boston Bruins 4-3 in overtime at the end of February and now it is time for them to come through. The Rangers on the other hand have been in playoff mode for at least as long as the Caps have been on cruise control, so we know the Rangers will be ready. The good news for the Caps is that they have more firepower than the Rangers and that gives them a much larger margin of error to get through Game 1 and this series.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 4
Rangers 3
Winner by Morrrissonnn