Here’s the thing about the Rangers shutting down the Capitals’ potent one-two punch of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom: They’ve already done this.
“Sometimes it comes down to their top guys and us shutting them down,” goalie Henrik Lundqvist said after Wednesday’s practice. “That’s what we did with Pittsburgh.”
Shutting someone down is a relative term, so the two goals Sidney Crosby scored — along with his umpteen scoring chances and two assists in five games — can be deemed a success. The zero goals and zero points from Evgeni Malkin, on the other hand, represented an utterly impressive performance by the Rangers, even if he wasn’t 100 percent while dealing with a back ailment.
So as the Blueshirts’ second-round series against Ovi & Co. begins Thursday night at the Garden, there might be that little bit of knowledge floating around somewhere in their collective psyche that this is a manageable task.
“The same challenge and test is in front of us,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “Both of those players are, again, two great players. Ovechkin might be a little more physical than both Crosby and Malkin. But it’s going to be a major challenge for us, a major test for us, and I think our guys are looking forward to it.”
There was a fascinating technical breakdown on how to defend Ovechkin from Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh, who knows what to expect from the Russian winger whom he and partner Dan Girardi will see a lot this series.
Ovechkin led the league with 53 regular-season goals — 10 more than second-place finisher Steven Stamkos — and lining up on the left wing, he primarily will square off against the right-sided (and right-handed) Girardi. But that doesn’t mean Girardi is left alone to try to shut him down.
“He likes to make that move where he carries it in and makes a move to his forehand,” McDonagh said. “If anything, you want to try and support Dan in the aspect of maybe trying to take that ice away from him. If there’s a two-on-two situation or a one-on-two situation, he likes to get ahead of his guy sometimes. So if I can recognize that and it’s kind of them two on an island, hopefully I can come over and kind of cut that ice out for him so maybe he’s forced to go to his backhand or shoot it before he makes that move.”
Ovechkin may have his go-to moves, but McDonagh also is fully aware that is not the limit of his repertoire.
“He’s a world-class talent,” McDonagh said. “He’s got plenty of ways to be effective out there.”
Ovechkin might be the bigger name — his three MVPs and five goal-scoring titles make that easily apparent — but Backstrom was the one who haunted the Islanders in the first round, scoring three goals and adding three assists in their hard-fought seven-game series.
“We’ve got to just be on our toes,” Girardi said, “and not sit back at all.”
There is no getting around the fact the Capitals are a big and physical team, even if Vigneault said, “I don’t think they’re more physical than any teams we’ve seen.” Yet their biggest asset lies in the elite-level talents of Ovechkin and Backstrom, the two players on their roster who can change a game on every shift.
But the Penguins had those guys, as well. They also tried to negate the Rangers’ quick transition game with a conservative approach, just as the Capitals will try to limit the Blueshirts’ speed with a bruising and physical game.
That leaves the Rangers with another challenge in front of them — a similar one.
“We’re going to try to play to our strengths, play a fast game, play a quick north-south game,” Vigneault said. “We know what to expect from them and we’re going to try to play to our strengths.”