Expect a Rangers-Capitals Series in the Playoffs, With or Without Sean Avery

Despite their recent skid, the New York Rangers are 31-22-6, and have 68 points, which is good for fifth place. The Washington Capitals are 37-17-5, with 79 points, good for first place in their division.

The Rangers have won three out of four games against Washington this year. Their last game was a 5-4 win for the Rangers in a shootout in New York.
 
The Rangers have given up 16 more goals than they scored. They have some great players, but the team has played without a lot of energy lately. Chris Drury is minus-10 and Scott Gomez is minus-11.
 
New York is not particularly physical at defense. Forwards Colton Orr, Paul Voros, and Blair Betts can be very physical. The Rangers can wear a team down and by disturb the flow of the game in the neutral zone.

In short, the Rangers make it hard for the Caps to run and gun.
 
The Rangers dominated the Caps for much of the game on Dec. 23, jumping out to a 4-0 lead before Ovechkin lead the Capitals back. In the last game, the Capitals lost it in the shootout.

Ovechkin leads the league in goals (42) and is second in points (75). He was the first overall selection in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout, he began play in the 2005-06 NHL season, in which he won the Calder Memorial Trophy, the Rookie of the Year.

During the 2007-08 season, he led the NHL with 65 goals and 112 points to capture the Rocket Richard and Art Ross Trophies.

That season he also won the Lester B. Pearson Award as the top player voted by the NHLPA and the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's MVP. He is the first player in NHL history to win all four awards.

Is the Rangers defense good enough to keep up with Ovechkin and company for an entire series? The Rangers have a lot of defensive lapses and the Caps know how to make you pay. 

The Sean Avery acquisition could make the difference in this one.

The Rangers came on so strong at the beginning of the year, many began thinking the Rangers could march all the way to the Stanley Cup, the National Post stated today. Since then, the Rangers have lost so much steam that analysts predict the only way to bring this New York team back from the brink is to bring back bad boy Sean Avery.