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Rangers vs. Capitals Final Score: New York Shuts Out Washington to Win Series; Advances to Eastern Conference Semifinals

By Josh Hill

May 13, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; The New York Rangers celebrate from the bench after scoring a goal against the Washington Capitals in the second period in game seven of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
May 13, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; The New York Rangers celebrate from the bench after scoring a goal against the Washington Capitals in the second period in game seven of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /
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May 13, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; The New York Rangers celebrate from the bench after scoring a goal against the Washington Capitals in the second period in game seven of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
May 13, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; The New York Rangers celebrate from the bench after scoring a goal against the Washington Capitals in the second period in game seven of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Verizon Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

The New York Rangers lost two heartbreaking overtime games in their series against the Washington Capitals, but those losses weren’t backbreaking. After fighting back to tie the series and force Game 7, the Rangers saw an offensive explosion that not only crushed the Caps last breath but advanced them the a matchup with the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

New York scored five times on Washington netminder Braden Holtby while the Caps couldn’t muster a single point against Henrik Lundqvist. It had been a frustrating series for the Rangers’ net minder as despite being the best goalie in hockey, Lundqvist wasn’t getting the proper run support he needed to get New York wins.

That offense came in bunches on Monday night as Arron Asham, Taylor Pyatt, Michael Del Zotto, Ryan Callahan and Mats Zuccarello all scored for the Rangers in Game 7 to get them to a 5-0 shutout win that eliminated Washington.

For the Caps, things had looked promising after a big Game 5 win in overtime but despite having Hart Trophy finalist Alex Ovechkin on roster the Caps failed miserably to close out the Rangers and are yet again on the outside of the Stanley Cup chase looking in. The loss is yet another in a ling line of them for Washington in the postseason. Alex Ovechkin has yet to play in a Stanley Cup Final and the glitter of him being one of the best players in the game has worn off.

Chances will likely be made in Washington as the collapse against the Rangers was epic. Not only did they lose 5-0 in Game 7 and totally look uninterested in winning, but they dropped two straight games after what seemed to be an invigorating Game 5 in in overtime.

But tonight is about the team that came back and knocked off the 3-seed in the Eastern Conference. With the Montreal Canadiens also gone, the Penguins are the only top seed remaining followed by Boston Bruins as the 5-seed being the next highest seed.

That Bruins team is who the Rangers will matchup against in the next round and if they keep up this intensity we saw in Game 7, Boston might not be able to handle what New York is about to bring.

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