Capitals-Rangers series preview

THREE KEYS TO THE SERIES

1. Just can’t wait to beat King

Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist is easily the Rangers’ best player and is known for his vision - just about any shots he sees he’s able to stop. “We just gotta … get the puck to the net and get guys there and win the battles in front of the net,” Caps center Marcus Johansson said. Putting traffic in front of Lundqvist is the way the Caps might be able to get to him. All-time, King Henrik is 11-6-2 against Washington.

2. Red, black and blue

New York’s trademark is its physical, bullying style of play. And while some players like Matt Bradley say they like that kind of hockey, it could be tough for a quick, young Caps team to adjust. But Karl Alzner has a solution: “I think we gotta wear them down. We gotta keep the puck in their zone. They really love to dump it, crash and bang and I think if we do that to them, it’s gonna be awesome for us.”

3. Semin, Sturm and secondary scoring

Guys like Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom need to put the puck in the net for the Caps to advance to the second round, but that’s not all. Getting secondary scoring from the likes of Alexander Semin and Marco Sturm is crucial. Semin, who hasn’t scored in his past 14 playoff games, could benefit greatly from skating with Jason Arnott. “It’s just great to play with a person like that who can see the ice, who knows what he’s doing,” Semin said through an interpreter.

MATCHUP TO WATCH

Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin vs. Rangers D Marc Staal

While the Caps get the last change at home for the first two games of the series, New York will likely try to match its best defenseman up against Ovechkin. Bruce Boudreau would love to get Ovechkin some free space on the ice, but Staal and defense partner Dan Girardi will do their best to at least contain the superstar and linemates Nick Backstrom and Mike Knuble. Ovechkin has looked quicker and stronger since returning from a three-game absence, so it might not matter who’s defending him.

LIKELY LINE COMBINATIONS

CAPITALS

Forwards

LW Alex Ovechkin - C Nicklas Backstrom - RW Mike Knuble

LW Marco Sturm - C Jason Arnott - RW Alexander Semin

LW Brooks Laich - C Marcus Johansson - RW Jason Chimera

LW Matt Hendricks - C Boyd Gordon - RW Matt Bradley

Defense

Karl Alzner - John Carlson

Jeff Schultz - Scott Hannan

John Erskine - Mike Green

RANGERS

Forwards

LW Brandon Dubinsky - C Derek Stepan - RW Ruslan Fedotenko

LW Vinny Prospal - C Artem Anisimov - RW Marian Gaborik

LW Wojtek Wolski - C Brian Boyle - RW Brandon Prust

LW Sean Avery or Mats Zuccarello - C Erik Christensen - RW Chris Drury

Defense

Marc Staal - Dan Girardi

Michael Sauer - Ryan McDonagh

Bryan McCabe - Matt Gilroy or Steve Eminger

Starting Goalies

Capitals: Michal Neuvirth - 27-12-4, 2.45 GAA, .914 save percentage

Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist - 36-27-5, 2.28 GAA, .923 save percentage