NHL Playoffs 2012: Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers Game 5 Preview

The series will return to Madison Square Garden as the New York Rangers will host the Washington Capitals in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series. The puck will drop at 7:30 p.m. Eastern as the Capitals look to take lead of the series.

The Rangers and Caps have traded wins, with the Rangers winning Games 1 and 3 and the Caps taking Games 2 and 4. There has been no discernible home ice advantage seeing as they split the games in New York and in DC. That said, having to return to New York shouldn’t impact the Caps’ chances of taking lead of the series.

For the first time in the 2012 postseason, three of Washington’s top stars scored in one game. Game 4 saw Alexander Ovechkin score off of a slapshot in the first period. Just past the halfway mark of the second period, Nicklas Backstrom scored to recover the Caps’ lead. Finally, with less than six minutes left in regulation, Mike Green unleashed a slapshot that would prove to be the game-winning goal.

Backstrom and Green both sat out for a good portion of the regular season due to injuries. In the past year, it was rare that we’d see Ovechkin, Backstrom, Semin, and Green all in the Caps' lineup at once. The Caps were elated to have all of their offensive superstars back in the lineup for the playoffs. Head coach Dale Hunter must be ecstatic to not only have them back, but to have them driving offensive production again.

Washington’s power play was 1-1 in Game 4. While they didn’t score on their first man advantage, they still managed to get a few good chances. Green’s game-winner came on the Caps’ second power play of the game. It was only the fifth power play goal the Caps have scored in the postseason. However, of those five power play goals, four have been game winners.

After defending the net for nearly six periods of hockey last Wednesday, Holtby only faced 20 shots in Game 4. Of those 20 shots, Holtby saved 18. The Caps also continued to make a point of shot blocking, totaling for 26 blocked shots. If the Caps defenders can continue to prevent pucks from even reaching Holtby, they will be more than capable of taking Game 5.

One problem that has plagued the Caps for a few games now has been the amount of giveaways they tally. In 60 minutes of play, they gave the puck away 17 times, almost tripling the six giveaways made by the Rangers. As close as the games in this series have been, the Caps can’t afford to give the puck away and create a scoring opportunity for the Rangers.

The Caps outplayed the Rangers on the boards in Game 4. On both sides of the ice, the Caps were pretty good about beating the Rangers when it came to battling for the puck on the boards. In my opinion, that was one of the more underrated factors of their win on Saturday. If they can keep that up, along with outshooting the Rangers, playing well on the man advantage, and preventing pucks from even reaching Holtby, Game 5 and the entire series is theirs for the taking.