*Photo from TheScore*
New York leads series 1-0
Another series is off and running. Jimmy Vesey had a goal and an assist, Barclay Goodrow had two assists, and the New York Rangers defeated the Washington Capitals with a 4-1 victory Sunday afternoon in Manhattan.
The president's trophy winning Rangers got their playoff run started right, beating the Capitals, who were the last team in the playoffs. With the Rangers seeking to end a 30 year Stanley Cup drought, unexpected contributors like Vesey and Goodrow had the multi point games in the series opener.
New York head coach Peter Laviolette said of the win that "You're here to win games and so it's obviously good to get the first one. Everything ratchets up a little bit more and we're going to need to be ready, but you can only do one at a time. You need to win one at a time, so for that the result was good."
After a scoreless first period, Matt Rempe scored 4:17 into the second period, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead with Vesey and Goodrow assisting. Just 33 seconds later, Artemi Panarin doubled the lead to 2-0. Vesey made it 3-0 not long after that, scoring with an assist from Goodrow at the 6:23 mark of the second.
Martin Fehervary got the Capitals on the board and ended the shutout bid 7:31 into the second, assisted by Tom Wilson and Aliaksei Protas. The score remained 3-1 until late in the 3rd period. There, Chris Kreider gave the Rangers an insurance goal, making it a 4-1 game with assists going to Mika Zibanejad and Jack Roslovic.
Rempe said of his goal that "I'll always remember it. It was awesome. It didn't really kick in and then you hear the crowd. It was a dream come true. It was unreal. I know my game. I know I can skate well and be physical. I'm built for the playoffs, I think. I was happy with how tonight went."
Starting in goal for the Rangers was top goalie Igor Shesterkin, who put together a strong showing to get the win. Shesterkin stopped all but one of the 21 shots he faced from the Capitals attack, giving him a .952 save percentage in the win.
Getting the start on the other end of the ice for the Capitals was Charlie Lindgren, who got outdueled and took the loss. Lindgren made 27 saves out of the 31 shots on goal the Rangers sent at him, recording a .871 save percentage.
Washington defenseman and alternate captain John Carlson said of the loss that "We know they're going to be able to bury chances. We know we can't be giving them 2-on-1s in the middle of the ice and stuff like that. It's nothing we didn't expect, nothing we haven't talked about. We have a chance to play a lot better and I think for us just regroup and put our heads down and get back to work like we always have."
Game two is set for Tuesday night in the heart of New York City. The Rangers will go for a two game series lead against their division rivals while the Capitals try to tie the series at a game apiece before heading home.
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