NHL Playoffs 2011: Game 1 Is a Must-Win for Bruce Boudreau's Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals enter the 2011 NHL playoffs as the No. 1 seed for the second consecutive season.

Last season the Capitals entered the playoffs as the highest scoring team since the mid-1990's. Many experts predicted Washington would dismantle the Montreal Canadiens and easily move on to the second round.

Four games into the series, many of those experts looked like prophets, as the Caps held a commanding three games to one lead. However, this is the Washington Capitals and if you look up the phrase, "playoff futility" a picture of their logo would appear.

Sure enough, the Caps became the first No.1 seed to blow a 3-to-1 series lead and lost in seven games to the Habs. Washington's No.1 ranked power play went a dismal 1-for-33 in the series and the Caps' vaunted offense that scored 318 regular season goals could muster just three in the final three games.

The team that Washington will face this year in the first round is not very different from the Canadiens team that shocked the Capitals last year.

Despite missing Ryan Callahan, their second-leading scorer, the Rangers are still very dangerous and like all No. 8 seeds, playing with house money.

New York was 10-7-2 without Callahan when he missed 19 games with a broken hand in the middle of the season. So do not feel pity for the Blue Shirts, they can win the series without him.

Once again this year, many of those same experts and pundits are again picking the Caps in five or six games, which seems idiotic to me considering how easily the Rangers handled Alex Ovechkin and company this past season.

The Blue Shirts took three of the four meetings during the regular season from Washington and scored the most goals the Capitals allowed back in December when the Rangers beat them 7-0 at MSG.

To prove the December contest was not a fluke, the Rangers shut out the Caps once again scoring six more goals in DC a few weeks later. Both shutouts came at the hands of Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who led the NHL with 11 whitewashes this season.

The Rangers also managed to sandwich in a 2-1 shootout victory over Washington between the two shutouts which means the Caps were dismantled 15-1 in the last three meetings against New York this season.

The Rangers insist this doesn't mean anything.

Speaking to NHL.com, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist said, "It doesn't matter, we had a couple of games where it felt like everything went our way. I think it's important to remember that. There's been some close games, there's been some games where everything went our way. That's just in the past.” (NHL.com)

"We know we have to work really hard and we have to be on top of our game, the NHL's shutout leader continued, "If we're going to have a chance. They're going to be a lot better than a couple of those games. They're playing a lot better now. We'll see how we do." (NHL.com)

What is Lundqvist supposed to say? He is in their heads. He plays a style that the Caps struggle with, Lundqvist stays deep in his net and moves side to side very quickly. This takes away the quick give-and-go’s the Caps like to work.

If the Caps crash the net with consistency, they can beat him, but that is a big if when it comes to this Caps team.

The Capitals were 13-3-4 against the tough Atlantic Division this season and two of those losses were against the Rangers. Only the Flyers had a better winning percentage against the Atlantic.

The Rangers have already been playing playoff hockey. As the final seed in the conference generally has to do for the last month of the season, the Rangers could not afford to lose and they hardly did as New York went 11-4-1 in their last 16 games.

The Capitals have not been playing playoff type hockey and looked like a team not headed to the playoffs when they were shut out for the 11th time this season when the lost to the Florida Panthers in the season finale.

The Capitals will need to start fast in this series and must play Game 1 as if it were Game 7. Washington cannot afford to get behind in the series or in Game 1. However, the numbers indicate the Caps will do just that and with Lundqvist in goal, they can afford to play catch up.

Washington scored just 54 first-period goals this season and only the Edmonton Oilers scored less in the opening frame during the year. Washington was an NHL-best 15-11-3 when they trailed after the first period and were 23-19-5 when allowing the first goal, also best in the NHL.

This stat catches up with teams this time of the year. I wonder, with last year's result and the miserable playoff history of this franchise, can the Caps psyche handle falling behind early?

Capitals head coach Bruce Boudreau must preach starting strong. The Rangers will not be affected by playing on the road. They had a better road record than home record this season.

The Rangers won 58 percent of their games away from MSG compared to just 48 percent in it. With no No.1 goalie in Washington, how confident does either Caps netminder feel about starting the series?

Washington netminders Semyon Varlamov and Michael Neuvirth will likely share duties in the series. While both can be spectacular at times they also have a knack for allowing at least one soft goal per game.

These guys are young. If you throw in Braden Holtby, the Capitals were the first team in NHL history this season to have three goalies aged 22 years or younger record four or more victories in a season, and each actually ended up with 10 or more wins to finish the season.

While Varly has playoff experience, he and Neuvirth are still young and those soft goals are a major concern headed into the second season.

There is no salvaging at least one point by playing beyond regulation. Whoever gets the nod will have to be great from start to finish because the guy standing between the pipes at the other end of the rink will almost assuredly be.

Another question also begs to be asked, how will Varly or Neuvy respond if they allow that soft goal early? Without either being designated the No. 1 guy, how can they confidently play with the worry of being pulled?

Boudreau has shown a knack for using a quick hook in the playoffs. He did it twice two years ago when he yanked veteran Jose Theodore in favor of Varlamov.

Game 1 is far more important to Washington than it is to New York. If Washington loses Game 1, then panic is likely to set in. Like most No. 8 seeds, the Rangers have nothing to lose and will come out loose and ready to play.

Washington must do the same. Two years ago, the Rangers had Washington on the brink of elimination and led the opening round series three games to one. They allowed the Caps to battle back and win in seven games.

The Rangers won both Games 1 and 2 in DC and then would essentially fall apart in losing the series. That Capitals were an end-to-end let it all hang out gunslinging bunch of goal scorers as they scored 15 goals in their four wins.

These Capitals are a defensive-minded bunch that does not score goals like that anymore. They scored 99 less goals than last season, and their once vaunted power play is now a middle of the road work in progress.

Washington’s leading scorer, Alex Ovechkin, finished with 26 less goals and 21 less points than his career averages. This is not a team that will be able to turn on the goal scoring faucet despite what the experts say.

The Caps may have managed to finish with a franchise low in goals allowed but they also finished with a six-year low of 2.73 goals for per game. This is the lowest total in the Ovechkin era as this also includes the 2005-06 team that notched just 70 points.

It is so tough to say that the Caps will not win the series if they lose Game 1, but they will not. In my opinion, the Caps really must win both games in DC to avoid playoff futility and the "wait till next year" talk in DC. 

So if you're headed to the game tomorrow night or even watching the game, “Rock the Red” Caps fans because the Washington Capitals are already in a must-win situation.