Peter Laviolette’s playoff experience guided Rangers through Capitals’ muck
NY Post
Peter Laviolette has been around a few of these things before.
One hundred and fifty-five of them, to be exact, after Sunday’s 4-1 Rangers playoff victory over the Capitals at the Garden to take a 1-0 series lead.
So, there was zero level of panic in the Rangers’ coach after a first period in which the Capitals played about as close to the blueprint on how they needed to play to have a chance in this series.
The Capitals were doing what they do — muddying up the game and preventing the faster, more skilled Rangers offensive weapons to roam and feast on scoring chances.
Washington had twice as many blocked shots in the first period (eight) as it had shots on Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin (four), and the high-voltage Rangers managed only seven shots on Capitals netminder Charlie Lindgren.
The result was a rather nondescript, scoreless opening 20 minutes to what the Rangers hope to be a very long postseason run, as they chase their first Stanley Cup in 30 years with a team that looks amply built to hoist the chalice at the end of the line.
TAMPA — Add one more quirk to a Yankees rotation that has become quirky: Without their No. 1 starter, their No. 2 starter likely will not shift ahead in the order.
The Jets were quiet on Day 2 of free agency after adding a new quarterback Monday.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Brett Berard has displayed both a fiery passion and an admirable patience in the last six months of his hockey career, which reached the NHL level for the first time at the end of November.
PORT ST. LUCIE — The baseball calendar says the Mets have about two weeks until Opening Day, but Francisco Lindor’s mind is on another timetable as these dog days of spring training pass.
The man with the best nickname on the team is one of the few Knicks who has made it this far relatively unscathed in the court of public opinion.
For a guy who seemingly is always headed out the door, Darius Slayton has a way of never leaving.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba — The Rangers stood by their defensive structure in the immediate aftermath of their Weekend of Missed Opportunities, in which they had two chances to capture the top wild-card spot in the East and failed to do so in such disappointing fashion.
PORT ST. LUCIE — Luis Torrens helped inject life into the Mets’ season last year but now faces even larger responsibilities with the team.
The Jets are having a Fields Day.
SACRAMENTO — P.J. Tucker understands his reputation as a hard-nosed player who is willing to vocalize displeasure.
The Yankees have insurance on Gerrit Cole, which is a positive thing in a very worrisome situation.
Could’ve, would’ve, should’ve, oh, the Rangers might’ve had a weekend if they had only buckled down after taking a 3-1 lead into the final 10 minutes in Ottawa on Saturday.
GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Dodgers’ last two steps to a championship were eliminating the New York teams last October, and it is hard to miss how much of a better February and March Los Angeles is having as well.