Alex Ovechkin led the Capitals with 31 goals, his NHL record 18th season scoring at least 30. Dylan Strome led Washington with 67 points (27 goals, 40 assists), and John Carlson led with 42 assists. Carlson also led all Capitals defensemen with 10 goals and 52 points.
Charlie Lindgren went 25-16-7 with six shutouts, a 2.67 GAA and .911 save percentage in 50 games (48 starts). Darcy Kuemper was 13-14-3 with a 3.31 GAA and .890 save percentage in 33 games (30 starts).
T.J. Oshie had two goals for Washington in three games against New York. Anthony Mantha had three goals in four games, but the Capitals traded him to the Vegas Golden Knights on March 5. Ovechkin did not have a point in two games against the Rangers.
“This time of year is a tough test no matter what,” Oshie said. “You can look at any year. Florida last year (reaching the Cup Final), plenty of different scenarios. So, we need to focus on us. That’s what we’ve been doing no matter who the opponent is, and we’ll do our due diligence on their personnel and their systems, but when it comes down to it, if we play our style of hockey, we’re confident we’ll get wins.”
Lindgren started three of the four games against New York and went 2-1-0 with four goals against on 89 shots (.955).
Lindgren’s brother, Ryan, is a Rangers defenseman.
“I’m really excited,” Charlie Lindgren said. “It’s going to be a fun family affair, obviously. I know my brother’s looking forward to it. My parents, I’m sure their stress levels are going to be pretty high, but obviously so excited that our journey as a team, we’re not done yet. We get to go into the dance and go continue to play hockey.”
Ovechkin has 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists) in 33 career playoff games against the Rangers.
New York went 26-7-1 in its final 34 games. Washington won four of its last five games to clinch a playoff berth.
The Rangers haven’t won the Stanley Cup since 1994 and haven’t reached the Stanley Cup Final since 2014. The Capitals captured their only Stanley Cup championship in 2018.
NHL.com staff writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this report
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