Over the past three seasons, the New York Rangers have been eliminated in the first round of the NHL playoffs by the same team in the Washington Capitals.
After a while, it starts to hurt.
In 2009, it was Sergei Federov who fired a wrist shot past Henrik Lundqvist in Game 7 to send the Rangers—up 3-1 at one point in the series—home from the spring. Washington would go on to lose in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semi-finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Last year, the Blueshirts drew the Capitals once again in the first round and suffered the same fate—this time around it took only five games. The most painful memory for the Rangers in that series was the crushing Game 4 defeat—up 3-0 going into the third period only to lose in overtime and then losing the next game to be eliminated from the playoffs.
You don't think there's some sting left over from those playoff wounds?
It's been a banner season for New York. With a victory tonight over the same Washington Capitals, they would clinch the President's trophy—awarded to the team for the most points in a season—and, in a twist of fate, would mo ...
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Article written by James Wrabel, Jr.
New York Rangers: Exacting Playoff Revenge on Washington Capitals Would Be Ideal
April 7th, 2012 by James Wrabel, Jr. Leave a reply »
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