How sweep it is. The Rangers took care of business by defeating the Capitals 4-2 to advance to the second round. They swept the best of seven series.

Now, they’ll await the winner between the Hurricanes and Islanders. The Canes lead the first round series three games to one. They’ll look to close it out on Monday night at home.

For the Rangers, they didn’t make it easy on themselves. In fact, the Capitals played their best game of the series. Facing playoff extinction, they showed plenty of urgency.

Despite falling quickly behind on a Kaapo Kakko goal off a Nick Jensen turnover 57 seconds in, it was the Caps who were quicker to the puck and created some dangerous scoring chances. That included Dylan Strome being turned away by Igor Shesterkin on the following shift.

The Rangers were guilty of some sloppy  turnovers. They played very loose in the first two periods. It led to the Caps forcing Shesterkin into some tough saves. He made a good stop on Sonny Milano. There also were consecutive saves on Tom Wilson that had him shaking his head as he skated back to the bench.

When they got shifts, the fourth line was effective. Barclay Goodrow, Jimmy Vesey, and Matt Rempe chipped pucks in and got in on the forecheck. Along with the third line, it was the play of the bottom six that got things done in the first period.

However, the fourth line did get scored on by the Caps with 5:06 left to tie the score. After a long Vesey shot was turned aside by Charlie Lindgren, Dylan Strome got the puck over to Aliaksei Protas. He fed a pinching Martin Fehervary across for a quick shot that beat Shesterkin.

On the goal, Rempe got caught exiting the zone. It was a lesson learned. He’d see no ice time in the third period.

There were plenty of hits throughout the period. The Caps held a slight edge. As expected, they played like their lives depended on it.

Peter Laviolette sent back out the fourth line. They were strong when they had the puck in the offensive zone. On another strong shift, they had the Caps pinned in when Jensen’s leg came together with Adam Fox’s to send him down to the ice in some pain. Jensen went off for tripping.

With only 16 seconds remaining in the first, Vincent Trocheck scored his third goal of the series. Artemi Panarin passed down low for Mika Zibanejad, who moved the puck in the slot for a Trocheck shot that caught Lindgren leaning.

As they celebrated, an animated Wilson exchanged words with Fox, who must’ve gotten under his skin. Wilson took a bad roughing minor to put the Rangers back on the power play.

At the start of the second period, Panarin had a puck go by him at the right point, sending Beck Malenstyn around him for a shorthanded bid. He made a good move, but Shesterkin got his pad on a backhand in tight.

After failing to capitalize on the five-on-four, the Rangers played about as poorly as possible. It was all Caps. They got seven of the first eight shots in the period. Eventually, their aggressiveness led to Hendrix Lapierre scoring his first of the postseason.

Following another lackluster power play due to the Rangers’ penalty kill blanketing Alexander Ovechkin, Lapierre skated right past Chris Kreider in the neutral zone and then got around Ryan Lindgren to beat Shesterkin with over 12 minutes remaining. It was a lazy defensive play by Kreider. He puck watched.

With the game tied, the Caps continued to press the attack. Shesterkin made timely saves on Fehervary and John Carlson. He stopped nine of 10 shots to keep the Rangers even on the scoreboard.

The Caps couldn’t grab the lead even with their best effort. They finished checks and certainly had their opportunities.

Laviolette began to shuffle his lines during the period. One shift saw Zibanejad with Kakko and Will Cuylle. The trio nearly hooked up for a goal. But Zibanejad missed wide in front. Panarin had a shift with Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere. Goodrow came on to take a faceoff and played with Alex Wennberg and Kakko.

Finally, seeing his team show some positive signs, Laviolette went back to his regular combinations. They escaped the period still tied.

In the third period, the Rangers were awake. A Braden Schneider shot led to a Kreider rebound that Lindgren handled.

On the opposite end, Protas got a great chance. But Shesterkin made the big save. Trocheck then was stopped by Lindgren, who gave his team a chance.

Following a Shesterkin save on T.J. Oshie, he got his stick up behind the Rangers’ net on Trocheck. That put them on the power play. This time, they made Oshie pay. It took only 11 seconds for Panarin to put the Rangers ahead.

Fox moved the puck for Zibanejad. He then got it over for a quick Panarin shot that went underneath Lindgren into the net for a 3-2 lead with 16:39 left. It was his second goal of the series and first since Game 1. After being held off the score sheet for the last two games, Panarin had a goal and an assist in the series clincher.

A Jacob Trouba giveaway forced Goodrow to take a hooking penalty to eliminate a scoring chance for Connor McMichael. It was a smart penalty. The Blueshirts shut down the Caps again by giving them nothing. Ovechkin had an attempt blocked by Trouba, who made up for his turnover.

During the series, Ovechkin struggled to get shots through. He was often stifled by K’Andre Miller and Schneider, along with whatever forwards were on. Whether it was Miller, Schneider, or Lindgren and Fox, Ovechkin had a hard time getting anything going. He was far too stationary on the power play. For the first time in his career, he was held without a point in a series.

As beloved as he is, Ovechkin looked like a shadow of the player who’s been a dominant force. He’s still trying to chase down Wayne Gretzky’s goal record. Washington coach Spencer Carberry hardly played him in the first two periods. That’s how ineffective he was.

At 38, he’s signed for another two years through 2026, making an average cap hit of $9.5 million. You have to wonder what Ovechkin has left. He looked old and slow.

Unlike the eyesore that was the second period, the Rangers came to play in the third. They didn’t give up much to the Caps. At one point, they were outshooting them 6-3.

The only adjustment from Laviolette was double shifting Panarin. He decided not to play Rempe in the third. While it was frustrating, it was understandable why. Instead, he played 11 forwards. At times, Goodrow and Wennberg played together. Those are the kind of checking players you win with in close games at this time of year.

You never got the impression that the Caps would score. They didn’t have much offense. Shesterkin was locked in, too.

When Panarin made a move that led to Rasmus Sandin taking him down with 2:42 remaining, it pretty much ended things.

Eventually, Carberry lifted Lindgren with over a minute left in regulation. Lafreniere had a good back check on Oshie. That led to him taking a Trouba outlet and sending the puck over for Jack Roslovic to fire it by a diving Ovechkin into an open net. That made it 4-2 with 51 seconds left.

Acquired from Columbus at the trade deadline, Roslovic had a good series. He finished with two goals and two assists. He had a point in each game.

With time winding down, Shesterkin made one final save on Wilson. After the buzzer, the Rangers contingent cheered.

The traditional handshake between the two rivals was respectful. Even Wilson and Panarin shook hands. Both Lindgren brothers exchanged pleasantries in an emotional moment. Laviolette and Carberry talked. Ovechkin congratulated Shesterkin and Panarin.

One round down. The Rangers know that it’ll get a lot tougher. The Capitals deserve some praise for reaching the playoffs. They weren’t expected to after the deadline. They were no match in the first round.

It’s good that the Rangers ended it quickly. They can rest up and start preparing for the next opponent. Most likely, the Canes. If that happens, it’ll be a big step up. They’ll have to play better.

For now, let’s enjoy this series victory. It was their first sweep since 2007 when they beat the Thrashers in four straight.

If I were to give a series MVP, it would go to Trocheck. He was every bit as good as he was during the season. He led the Rangers in with three goals and added three assists for six points. He dominated on faceoffs and in every key area.

Zibanejad paced the Rangers in scoring with seven points (1-6-7). He had a good series. Let’s see if he can follow it up.

Miller was the best defenseman. He really stepped up while paired with Schneider. He played with more edge and scored a big shorthanded goal. Miller has to continue to assert himself in the playoffs.

Goodrow gets an honorable mention. He played well in the checking role and added offense. That’s why the Rangers paid him. He is very effective in the postseason.

Now, let’s sit back and watch the rest of the first round.