On Broadway

[I wrote this earlier today, well before the game started.]
I don't have a whole lot to say about the Caps/Rangers tilt the other night. I watched it, starting shortly after it ended, as I was at a technology conference earlier in the day. One thing that hit me was that there was a remarkably small amount of action for a game that was moving a lot.

Some of that shouldn't be a surprise, I suppose. These were the top two teams in shot-blocking in the first round, I believe. So each team blocking about as many shots as they put on net shouldn't be as surprising as it normally would be. And I think that does a decent job of explaining why there were so few shots, overall.

It is good that the Caps were not outshot (for once) in the game. They were dead even at even strength, with the Caps holding a decent lead in power play shots. But Holtby did not have a good game, and the defense left him out to dry on Richards' goal in the third. And Lundqvist led his team, as he's done all season.

End result, it was a fairly long day for the Caps.

It didn't seem like the Caps spent nearly enough time in the Rangers' zone, although shots were even, as noted. I guess the Caps just did a better job of generating shots when they were there.

Overall, though, the 3-1 score in NYC tells us just that this series hasn't started yet. And it better get started tonight.