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Top-seeded Caps host Rangers in Game 1 of East quarters

Apr 13, 2011 - 3:25 PM (Sports Network) - Alex Ovechkin and the top-seeded Washington Capitals will try to start the postseason off on the right foot, as they host the eighth- seeded New York Rangers at the Verizon Center in Game 1 of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

The Capitals have failed to live up to lofty postseason expectations for three straight years, as they have lost twice in the first round and once in the conference semifinals despite averaging nearly 108 points a season over that span.

Washington suffered the ultimate embarrassment last spring, when it entered the postseason as Presidents' Trophy winners only to get bounced out in the opening round by eighth-seeded Montreal.

But, after three straight playoff disappointments, Caps head coach Bruce Boudreau decided to tinker with his team's approach. In previous years the Capitals only went as far as their high-powered offense would take them, but Boudreau hopes a newfound dedication to responsible defensive play will serve his club well this time around.

The new strategy resulted in down statistical years for Washington's top offensive performers, including Ovechkin. However, after losing in the first round of the playoffs for the second time in three years last spring, Ovie and his teammates were willing to accept a dip in personal stats in order to become a better team.

"Things haven't worked out like we'd have liked it to the last two or three years," said Boudreau of his club's recent playoff performances. "But we're ready and they want to play. It should be a good series."

Ovechkin was still Washington's best offensive player this season despite posting career-lows in goals (32) and points (85). The 25-year-old had recorded at least 50 goals and 100 points in each of his previous three campaigns.

With 40 points (20 goals, 20 assists) in 28 career playoff games, scoring in the postseason has not been a problem for Ovechkin, but Washington's captain has been criticized for disappearing at crunch time in the past. He needs to come through in the big spots this year if his team is going to make a deep run to the postseason.

To help alleviate the pressure placed on Ovechkin this time of year, the Capitals are also going to need increased scoring from the likes of Nicklas Backstrom and Alexander Semin. Backstrom had a career-low 65 points (18g, 47a) this year and Semin dropped from 40 goals and 84 points in 2009-10 to 28 markers and 54 points this season.

Semin enters this postseason having gone without a goal in 14 straight playoff contests. Last year, he had just two assists when top-seeded Washington bowed out in seven games to the Canadiens. Semin did have possibly the best postseason series of his career against the Rangers in 2009, logging five goals and three assists in seven games during an opening-round series win over New York.

The Caps do have some injury concerns heading into this round, as three defensemen and veteran centerman Jason Arnott are currently dealing with various ailments. Arnott is questionable for tonight with an undisclosed injury, but Mike Green -- Washington's top offensive defenseman -- could play tonight despite missing the last 20 games of the regular season with a concussion.

Green's fellow defensemen Tom Poti (groin) and Dennis Wideman (leg hematoma) are not expected to play tonight.

Washington boasts a trio of impressive young goaltenders and it's 23-year-old Michal Neuvirth who will get the start in Game 1. He was 27-12-4 with a 2.45 goals-against average in 48 games this season, but he has never manned the crease in an NHL playoff game.

Semyon Varlamov, the club's playoff goaltender in each of the past two seasons, offers Washington a good second option in net should Neuvirth falter.

After getting knocked out of playoff contention thanks to a shootout loss to Philadelphia on the final day of the 2009-10 campaign, the Rangers' postseason quest came down to the last weekend of the regular season once again.

A victory by the Rangers on the last Saturday of the regular season combined with a loss by Carolina later that night gave head coach John Tortorella's club the East's eighth seed as well as a fifth trip to the postseason in six years.

The Rangers are a club that struggles with consistency on offense and, as a result, New York relies heavily on goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist was a workhorse once again in 2010-11, although his 68 games played were the fewest for the Swede since his rookie year of 2005-06. The 29-year-old went 36-27-5 with a 2.28 GAA and he also set career-bests in save percentage (.923) and shutouts (11).

However, Lundqvist has a career record of 14-16 in the playoffs and the Rangers have lost four of the six postseason series with Hank as the No. 1 goaltender. Lundqvist's last playoff series was against Washington in 2009 and he yielded 19 goals on 207 shots as his team lost in seven games.

New York had just one player with over 50 points this season, as Brandon Dubinsky posted a career-best 54 points and led his club in both goals (24) and assists (30). Although the Rangers did not have anybody reach 25 goals this year, Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan, Marian Gaborik, Brian Boyle and Derek Stepan all had 20 or more tallies. Callahan, however, is out for the rest of the season after suffering a broken ankle earlier this month while blocking a shot.

Gaborik holds the key to New York's offensive success, but the enigmatic forward is coming off a disappointing second season in the Big Apple. Gaborik had 42 goals and 86 points with the Rangers in 2009-10, but managed just 22 tallies and 48 points this season.

The Rangers defense and the steady play of Lundqvist made New York the fifth- hardest team to score against this year, but the club's blue line is lacking in playoff experience. In fact, three members of New York's defensive rotation -- Michael Sauer, Matt Gilroy and Ryan McDonagh -- have never played in a postseason game at the NHL level.

At 24 years of age, Marc Staal is the club's best all-around defenseman and he has 17 games of playoff experience under his belt. He had seven goals, 22 assists and a plus-eight rating in 77 games for the Rangers this season.

Bryan McCabe was acquired at the trade deadline from Florida to provide offense and veteran leadership at the back end and he had two goals and four assists in 19 games with the Rangers.

Although this is a matchup between a first and eighth seed, it will be hard for Washington to take New York lightly considering the way the season series went in 2010-11. After losing their first game against the Caps back in November, the Rangers won the final three meetings and outscored Washington by a combined 15-1 margin in those tests.

These clubs have met five times in the playoffs and Washington has won three of those series.

Washington had a superb 25-8-8 record on home ice this year and the Rangers were a solid 24-16-1 as the guest.

Game 2 of this series is set for Friday evening in D.C.