Rangers on verge of delivering knockout punch to Capitals

WASHINGTON – This series has felt like heavyweight vs. middleweight since the start, with the New York Rangers on the verge of landing a swift knockout punch.

Friday’s 3-1 Game 3 win over the flailing Washington Capitals gave New York a commanding 3-0 series lead, with a chance to complete the sweep coming Sunday at 8 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.

It’s never felt particularly close, with the star-studded Blueshirts mostly having their way with the past-their-prime Caps. They teased Washington by allowing a first-period lead that lasted just 34 seconds, then stormed their way to a third straight consecutive with three unanswered goals.

New York Rangers forward Barclay Goodrow celebrates after scoring a shorthanded goal against the Washington Capitals.

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“The consistency has been great, and we’ve had contributions from everybody in the lineup,” center Vincent Trocheck said. “Depth is very key in playoffs, and I like the way we started with the depth so far.”

The Rangers’ top-two centers continue to shine, with Trocheck and Mika Zibanejad each notching a pair of points for the second consecutive game. And when they’ve needed him, goalie Igor Shesterkin has been there to thwart any hopes the Capitals have of making this a series.

Their advantage in special teams has been stark, as well, with the lockdown penalty kill going 6-for-6 in Game 3. Barclay Goodrow scored the winning goal on one of those PKs − New York’s second shorthanded goal in as many games − and Trocheck later added one on the power play.

Of the 60 total minutes played Friday, 18:31 were spent on special teams, with every penalty situation adding to the Blueshirts’ swagger while compounding Washington’s frustrations.

“You can get confidence throughout a game, throughout a series, throughout the season,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “It’s not like we flipped a switch going into the playoffs. It was pretty good all year. It was pretty good down the stretch, and right now, the guys are doing a pretty good job.”

Now the Rangers sit one win away from a trip to the second round, where they should get a chance to take on a team in their own weight class.

The Rangers were in control from the drop of the puck and spent much of the first five minutes on the attack, but briefly found themselves in a 1-0 hole after an odd play that resulted in a John Carlson goal. The shot from the Capitals defenseman seemed to knuckle and catch Shesterkin off guard, as it hung in the air and beat him over the right shoulder.

That would be the only blemish for the 28-year-old netminder, who bounced back from the early goal by stopping each of the final 25 shots he saw.

The Blueshirts responded with the tying goal just 34 seconds later. It came from Chris Kreider, whose net-front tip of a Zibanejad shot upped his franchise-leading playoff goal total to 42 while tying him with Rod Gilbert for third-most postseason points with 67.

Exactly two minutes after that, the Rangers earned their second winning goal of the series in a shorthanded situation. It came off some good PK work from Goodrow and Trocheck, with Goodrow finishing off the rush to make it 2-1 New York and continue his strong start to the playoffs.

“We like to play aggressively, and we’re kind of always on our toes and not sitting back on our heels,” Goodrow said. “It seems like as of late, we’ve gotten a lot of chances, and obviously that’s a bonus. The first job is to kill it off, but obviously (K’Andre Miller) got a big goal for us last game, and then tonight we got another one.”

The Goodrow goal came on the first of three Washington power plays in the opening period alone. The Rangers were called for seven penalties in all, upping their series total to 18 through three games.

When asked about that high number and how he thinks the games are being officiated, Laviolette said, “I do have thoughts.” But when asked if he wanted to share them, he responded, “I do not.”

Rookie Matt Rempe has been whistled for three of those 18 penalties − one in each game − with at least two of those appearing to be based more on reputation than merit.

The 6-foot-8 forward put a monstrous hit on Caps defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk at the 12:08 mark of Friday’s first period, which, if anything, may have passed for boarding or charging because it occurred a moment after the puck was passed. But it mostly looked like a hard, playoff check, yet was oddly called for interference.

The unfortunate result was van Riemsdyk exiting the game with an upper-body injury, but the Rangers didn’t seemed fazed by the penalty.

Their PK has been excellent in this series, with relentless pressure up the ice preventing the Capitals from setting up possession and causing turnovers that lead to shorthanded rush chances. The Blueshirts have gone 13-for-15 on the penalty kill (86.7%), including stopping all six Washington power plays in Game 3.

“The PK has been really good,” Trocheck said. “I think pressure is big. It rattles power plays. It’s one of the things that every power play struggles with. It’s one of the hardest things to go against. On entries, getting pressure at the blue line is huge. It disrupts the power play’s entries. It disrupts flow and makes them frustrated.”

The Rangers’ power play hasn’t been too shabby, either. A perfectly executed give-and-go between Trocheck and Zibanejad resulted in the former’s second goal of the series, upping the lead to 3-1 with 4:38 remaining in the second period.

“I’m just trying to get through the slot and see if he can see me, if he can find me,” Trocheck said. “And if not, then kind of get another set or stay in that front. But basically, that’s him finding me. I’m just skating through the middle of the ice and seeing if he can catch my tape.”

Canucks 2, Predators 1

Casey DeSmith made 29 saves for his first career playoff win as the Vancouver Canucks beat the Nashville Predators 2-1 on Friday night to take a 2-1 series lead.

DeSmith has been forced into action because of a lower-body injury to No. 1 goalie Thatcher Demko, who was only able to play in the series opener. Demko is likely to miss the remainder of the series.

J.T. Miller had a goal and an assist and Brock Boeser also scored for the Canucks. Defenseman Quinn Hughes had two assists.

Avalanche 6, Jets 2

Nathan MacKinnon and Valeri Nichushkin scored power-play goals 2:28 apart early in a five-goal third period, and the Colorado Avalanche rallied to beat the Winnipeg Jets 6-2 in Game 3 of their first-round series in Denver on Friday night.

Colorado took a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference quarterfinal series, with Game 4 in Denver on Sunday afternoon.

Oilers 6, Kings 1

Zach Hyman, Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid scored in the first period and the Edmonton Oilers finished with three power-play goals in a 6-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 3.

Hyman and Draisaitl each had two goals, and Draisaitl also had an assist as the Oilers took a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series while rebounding from a 5-4 defeat at home in Game 2.

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contributing: Field Level Media

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Rangers on verge of delivering knockout punch to Capitals