WASHINGTON — If the aim of the new-style Capitals is to win by frustration, they’ve certainly hit full stride against the Rangers.
The Rangers controlled the flow of play for two of three periods against the Capitals on Friday night, but couldn’t penetrate a group that has learned how to play defensive hockey. New York managed only 22 shots on Michal Neuvirth, and the rookie stopped every single one, getting his first playoff shutout in a 2-0 victory that gave Washington a 2-0 lead in the first-round Eastern Conference series.
“It’s a long game,” said Brooks Laich, who assisted on Washington’s first goal. “And if you can bend at times but not break and keep up that solid defensive hockey, maybe frustrate them, it works to our advantage.”
So far, so good — unless you’re sitting in the Rangers’ locker room, trying to figure out how your team has managed only one goal in nearly 140 minutes in the series.
“We’ve done some of the things we wanted to do, but it’s not enough,” Rangers center Brian Boyle said. “It wasn’t enough in Game 1, and it wasn’t enough tonight. It’s frustration tonight.”
After playing on their heels much of the first period, the Capitals got a talk from coach Bruce Boudreau and came out for the second period a different team, dominating the Rangers from one end of the rink to the other. Jason Chimera and Jason Arnott scored in a 1:57 span.
“We came out a little slow, and he addressed that in the intermission of the first and second,” defenseman Mike Green said. “And we started to pick it up after that. And then it was just a battle of attrition till the end.”
Neuvirth took care of the rest.
