Caps and Rangers Stats Mega-Table
The New York Rangers wrapped up the 8th and final playoff spot last night with a 5-2 win over New Jersey and the Carolina Hurricanes loss to Tampa Bay 6-2. Carolina controlled their own fate, but failed to take out Tampa to secure the 8th and final spot. So, it is the Rangers. The Rangers will face the 1st seed Washington Capitals. For much of the season, Washington scarped to stay an even 5 points behind Tampa Bay in the Southeast Division. Washington was crippled by a devastating 9 game losing streak. However, Washington tuned it on in the second half of the season. You can attribute it to a few things. First, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom heated up to their former selves, piling up points. Second, newcomers Jason Arnott, Dennis Wideman, and Marco Sturm not only fit into the Capitals system well, they contributed heavily to the success that came after the trade deadline. The veteran leadership provided by Arnott will likely be a significant factor for the Capitals during the playoffs, both on ice and in the locker room. Third, the Capitals have been getting some outstanding performance in net from Michal Nuevirth, Braden Holtby, and Semyon Varlamov, their young trio. At any given point, these three youngsters saved the Caps hides, from poor defensive play to mental lapses. These factor among the change in approach, to become a better balances defensive style team, has made a huge difference. However, one of the biggest factors to me has been the change in the penalty kill system. Caps are aggressive on the penalty kill, frequently going after the puck, and sacrificing on the blocks. It has transformed their 2009/10 25th ranked penalty kill unit to the NHL's second best unit this season.
The Rangers won the series against Washington this season, 3 games to 1. Washington beat New York the first time the two met, a 5-3 Caps win. New York shutout the Capitals twice during the season, 7-0 and 6-0. Overall, the Rangers out scored the Caps during the four games 18-6. Rangers have to be feeling pretty good about those numbers. For the Capitals, they have to solve Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
Overall, here is your stats table to compare the two hockey clubs. I think you will find they are pretty evenly matched.
* ( ) = NHL rank
| STAT | CAPITALS | RANGERS |
| Points | 107 (2) | 93 (18) |
| Goals PG | 2.67 (19) | 2.73 (16) |
| Goals 1P | 54 (28) | 59 (24) |
| Goals 2P | 76 (16) | 77 (15) |
| Goals 3P | 80 (9) | 85 (5) |
| Goals OT | 9 (2) | 3 (7) |
| Goals Aga PG | 2.33 (4) | 2.38 (5) |
| Goals Aga 1P | 60 (7) | 53 (4) |
| Goals Aga 2P | 68 (4) | 77 (8) |
| Goals Aga 3P | 58 (2) | 63 (4) |
| Goals Home | 122 (14) | 125 (10) |
| Goals Road | 97 (26) | 99 (22) |
| Goals 5 on 5 | 145 (20) | 150 (15) |
| Goals 5 on 4 | 40 | 44 |
| Goals 5 on 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Goals 4 on 4 | 9 | 7 |
| PP % | 17.5% (16) | 16.9% (18) |
| PK % | 85.6% (2) | 83.7% (10) |
| Shots For PG | 31.3 (12) | 29.9 (19) |
| Shots Aga PG | 29.0 (9) | 29.4 (10) |
| FO % | 51.6% (6) | 47.7% (25) |
| PIM PG | 11.3 (16) | 13.1 (18) |
| Win % Score 1st | .714 (13) | .683 (19) |
| Win % Trail 1st | .489 (1) | .390 (10) |
| STATS | CAPITALS | RANGERS |
| Points | Alex Ovechkin (85) | Brandon Dubinsky (54) |
| Nicklas Backstrom (65) | Gaborik, Callahan (48) | |
| Goals | Alex Ovechkin (32) | Brandon Dubinsky (30) |
| Alexander Semin (28) | Marian Gaborik (26) | |
| Assts | Alex Ovechkin (53) | Brandon Dubinsky (30) |
| Nicklas Backstrom (47) | Dan Girardi (27) | |
| PPG | Ovechkin, Mike Knuble (7) | Ryan Callahan (10) |
| PPA | Nicklas Backstrom (18) | Zuccarrelo, Gaborik (9) |
| +/- | Ovechkin, Backstrom (+24) | Mike Sauer (+20) |
| Hits | Alex Ovechkin (241) | Brian Boyle (240) |
| Blocks | John Carlson (160) | Dan Girardi (236) |
| Shoot% | Alexander Semin (.143) | BrandoN Prust (.149) |
| Defense Scor | John Carlson (37) | Dan Girardi (31) |
| Wins | Michal Neuvirth (27) | Henrik Lundqvist (36) |
