NHL Playoffs 2012: 5 Key Takeaways for the Washington Capitals Following Game 1

The most difficult aspect of winning a series as draining and dramatic as the one the Washington Capitals just won against the Boston Bruins is the realization that there is more work—much more work—to be done.

As epic as Joel Ward's goal was the other night, all it really did was keep the Caps' season alive and earned them the right to take on the No. 1 seed in the East, the New York Rangers.

If the Caps were poised for an emotional letdown, it is something they should have been guarding against with everything they had.

Last season, the Caps got by the Rangers in just five games, a very short series by Capitals standards during the Ovechkin era.

Against the Lightning in the Eastern Conference semifinals, the Caps never adjusted to the new opponent and were swept right out of the playoffs.

One would have hoped that disaster was fresh in the Caps' minds as they hit the ice at Madison Square Garden yesterday afternoon for Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series with the Rangers.

For the most part, there was no real evidence of an emotional letdown. All the same, the Rangers beat the Capitals in Game 1 by the final count of 3-1.

It took New York one game to do what Boston could not do in seven—beat the Capitals by more than one goal.

So what do we glean from Game 1?

Are the Caps doomed—or do they have the Rangers right where they want them?

Here are five key things I took away from Game 1.

1. The Rangers Are Not the Bruins

I know that might seem like a candidate for "Most Obvious Slide Title" of the year, but there is more to it than just stating the obvious.

For the most part, I think Game 1 went the way the Caps would have wanted it to go. After weathering an early onslaught from New York, the Caps found themselves in familiar territory—a scoreless game heading into the second period.

The Caps were not letting the Rangers gain the offensive zone very easily and they were trying to keep everything in front of them.

But for all their subtlety, the Rangers were also executing an offensive strategy very different from what the Bruins had tried.

The Rangers were operating their offense from behind the Caps' net as opposed to trying to utilize their speed to outflank the Caps' defense or to get bodies to the net, as the Bruins did.

For the most part, the Caps handled this pretty well. But they are going to have to be more conscious of wrap-around attempts—as will Braden Holtby—and watch for Rangers flying into the slot to take passes from behind the net.

The Caps need to play the Rangers like they did the Bruins without making the fatal mistake of failing to recognize exactly what the Rangers do better than the Bruins or what they do differently.

The Caps must also realize that the Rangers are a better shot-blocking team than the Bruins and, ironically, the Caps and Rangers mirror each other to a large extent.

Washington may very well have to come up with a different offensive strategy if they want to score more goals.

From what I saw in Game 1, it looks like the Caps can open things up a bit more than they did against Boston. But they still need to take a defense-first approach because New York isn't the No. 1 seed for nothing.

And the Rangers are excellent at pouncing on mistakes and the whole counter-punch style of game that worked so well for Washington against Boston. That was very evident on Chris Kreider's goal that turned the game around.

Finding a good balance between the style of play that worked against Boston and the style of play likely to work against New York will be a good test for the coaching skills of Dale Hunter.

For the Caps to succeed, it is a mystery he will need to solve quickly.

2. Be Very Wary of Chris Kreider

It took all of one game for me to identify the Tyler Seguin of this series—and it is Chris Kreider.

The big difference? It only took Kreider two periods to make his impact felt.

The Ranger's rookie is the reason the Caps are in an 0-1 series hole right now.

With the game tied at 1-1 in the third period, Kreider took advantage of a bad line change by the Caps. A perfect pass from Derek Stepan just as Caps defenseman Mike Green was heading to the bench and Kreider ended up with a mini-breakaway. He buried a shot past Braden Holtby just before Green could get back and break up the play.

About 90 seconds later, Kreider would strike again as he set up Brad Richards' tally to put the Rangers up 3-1.

The problem is that not a whole lot is known about Kreider aside from the fact that he is really good.

From a scouting perspective, all the Caps really have to go on, from an NHL level, is Kreider's play in the Ottawa series. Kreider did not play a regular-season game as he was too busy helping Boston College win the NCAA hockey championship.

Called up against Ottawa, Kreider's NHL career consists of a whopping six games. But he scored the game-winner in Game 6 against the Senators that sent that series to a decisive Game 7.

Now he has scored another game-winner in this series.

He has that burst of speed and natural skill that are very reminiscent of Tyler Seguin—and Seguin very nearly ruined the Caps in the Bruins series.

Not much may be known about this dynamic young player, but the Caps would be wise to start studying game film and whatever else they can—before it is too late.

3. The Caps Must Play Smarter

This ties in, to a certain extent, with understanding that the Rangers are not the Bruins.

But it is more than that as well.

One thing the Capitals cannot do if they hope to win this series is continue to take dumb penalties.

That is especially true for Alexander Semin, who wiped out one power-play opportunity with a bad slashing penalty and then helped kill the momentum the Caps got from the Jason Chimera goal at the end of the second period by getting called for tripping barely two minutes into the third period.

Then there was the too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty late in the third period that effectively took two crucial minutes away from Washington's attempts to get back into the game.

It is not just penalties, though. Part of what the Caps need to change deals with recognizing what the Rangers are doing and taking advantage of what New York is giving them.

What I mean is that the Rangers do not look like they are going to be in attack mode all game long, like the Bruins were for long stretches of the series. It may not be fun to watch the hockey equivalent of World War I trench warfare, but both teams are capable of doing that to each other.

One advantage the Rangers have that the Bruins did not is that they have seven games worth of film to study and realize what this version of the Caps is all about. And you could see that in Game 1.

One other thing the Caps should be doing is looking to try and get Joel Ward and Mike Knuble more ice time. The two men who combined for the biggest goal in recent Caps playoff history looked pretty active when they were on the ice.

No, neither one shot much. But there seems to be some chemistry between them and this was evident against Boston.

If New York will continue to have success limiting what the Caps' big guns do, then guys like Joel Ward and Mike Knuble will need to step forward and pick up the slack.

4. The Caps' Big Guns Need to Remain Patient

Most experts believe there is no way the Capitals will be able to beat the Rangers unless their big guns increase their productivity from the series against Boston.

Scott Burnside at ESPN certainly feels this way.

While I agree that it would be nice to have Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin and Nicklas Backstrom score more goals, I don't think the lack of a huge output from them is a death knell for Washington.

Regardless, what the Caps' big guns need to do is exercise patience. The opportunities will come.

The Rangers main defensive pairing consists of Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi. They are a formidable duo, but they lack the size and pure skill that the Caps faced in Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg.

That is not a knock on McDonagh or Girardi, not at all. Girardi was an All-Star this season, so he cannot be taken lightly at all.

Still, Ovechkin should eventually find more room to work against McDonagh and Girardi as they do not have the size advantage to slow Ovechkin down like Chara did. For all of Ovie's struggles, he is still one of the better pure skaters in the NHL, with tremendous instincts to boot.

In Game 1, we could already see Ovechkin gaining some open ice to work with that he rarely enjoyed against Boston. He had some opportunities, but he failed to convert. He must remain patient and not get too frustrated. If he presses too much, Ovechkin is bound to make a mistake that will cost the Caps.

Ovechkin noticed this too: "I had more time and space than when we played against Boston, 100 percent," Ovechkin told reporters. "My line has to be better in the neutral zone to create opportunities for me and Brooksie and Brouwer."

As for Semin, he just needs to keep shooting the puck. He had some great chances in Game 1. One of them would have been a goal but for the crossbar. Henrik Lundqvist won't get that lucky every game.

The same holds true for Backstrom, Troy Brouwer, Brooks Laich, Marcus Johansson and the rest of them.

Patience is a virtue.

For the Capitals it will be essential.

5. The Caps Do Not Need to Change That Much

Despite what many people have said, I do not believe wholesale changes are necessary for Washington.

The Capitals did not play a bad game.

Could they have played smarter? Yes.

Could they have played better? Sure.

Do they need to make adjustments for Game 2? Absolutely.

But should they get away from what they did against Boston just to try and generate more offense and force the issue against a Rangers team that is probably trying to bait them into doing just that?

I don't think so.

New York, like Washington, got scoring from all over the lineup in their opening-round series win over Ottawa. Nine different Rangers scored. So, while the Rangers may not have quite the depth that Boston had, you would not know it from looking at that series with Ottawa.

The Rangers have lots of weapons they can throw at the Caps. We already know all about Kreider and Richards. But you have to worry about Ryan Callahan, Marian Gaborik and Artem Ansimov, who scored the first goal of the series.

And if Brian Boyle and Brandon Dubinsky return to the lineup, it will only be more of a challenge.

This is why I disagree with those who think the Caps need to drastically dial up the offensive aggression in Game 2. Some increased intensity is certainly necessary, but not at the expense of abandoning the game plan and allowing the Rangers room to innovate and create extra scoring opportunities.

In 2009, the Rangers could not beat the Caps because they had no one who could score consistently.

Last year, they could not match the intensity of Washington or their speed and they fell in five.

I think the Rangers want to bait the Caps into abandoning what worked against Boston because they know that this year they have the speed and the snipers to match Washington.

The Rangers want the Caps to revert to their old style of offense first, as that plays right into the way this year's version of the Rangers are built. Oh, New York can score, and score in bunches. But I think the Rangers learned a great deal about themselves from the tough wake-up call they got from Ottawa.

The Senators played like the Caps of old, with a lot of speed and reckless abandon. Eventually, the Rangers overcame this. I really think the Rangers want to see more of this type of style from their old nemesis.

The Caps will therefore have to resist this, to a certain extent, and try and wear the Rangers down and force them into mistakes.

If the Caps are going to be successful, adjustments need to be made. Switching up the lines would be a good start and it looks like we will be seeing that as ESPN New York is reporting that Semin has been knocked down to the fourth line.

Beyond that, though, the Caps need to play the game that got them to this point. The style of hockey the team played in 2009-2010—well, that did not work so well, did it?

If the Caps stick to their set game plan against the Rangers, they should be just fine.