Plus: The Caps are extremely shorthanded right now on the blueline, but Alex Alexeyev had a pretty decent performance for himself in his first-ever NHL postseason outing.
Minus: Giving up a goal to Matt Rempe? Matt Rempe?? Gross.
Key Moment: The three goals in just over two minutes early in the second period simply doomed the Caps and they weren’t able to recover.
Caps Player of the Game: Giving this one to a combo of Aliaksei Protas and Alexeyev, both of whom were noticeable in a (mostly) good way today.
Final Thoughts: Look, the Caps were probably not going to win Game 1. And you’d like to see some things tightened up going forward. But it was close for most of the game, and the Caps have time to figure out ways to break through the Rangers’ defense (which is not their strongest suit). Regroup, get it back in Game 2.