Carl Hagelin stays with Martin Erat. Getty Images/Alex Brandon

Game 1 went to Washington. The Capitals defeated the Rangers 3-1 to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference Quarterfinal. Alex Ovechkin, Marcus Johansson and Jason Chimera scored for them. Braden Holtby made 35 saves.

Carl Hagelin scored our lone goal. It was his first career playoff goal. Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves. It was the last two he didn’t stop which hurt. After Ovechkin tied the game with a power play goal, Johansson and Chimera scored 46 seconds apart. All three Washington goals came in the second period. Despite being out-shot 16-9, they beat Lundqvist three times on nine shots.

Special teams were a factor. The Caps went 1-for-5 on the power play and the Rangers were 0-for-3, including an epic fail on a 56 second five-on-three which proved fatal. How many times have we seen the power play fire blanks? It wasn’t enough that Chris Rooney made a hideous charging call on Arron Asham that allowed Ovechkin to tie the game. Already on a power play, Ryan Callahan was cross checked twice by John Erskine during a scrum. Somehow, he wound up in the box for roughing while Eric Fehr got the extra two. It wouldn’t have mattered if they had an extended two-man advantage. They still wouldn’t have scored.

Holtby may have made more saves. But he didn’t have to work too hard. With the exception of Callahan and Hagelin, our guys played on the perimeter. The Caps dominated the first, getting 11 of the first 12 shots. Only Lundqvist prevented a disaster. Using momentum from an early power play, they controlled the neutral zone and fired away. With plenty of aid from Hank, the Rangers withstood the pressure.

A good shift from the fourth line led to Hagelin opening the scoring. After the Caps iced the puck, Ryan McDonagh worked the puck deep to Callahan, who chipped it to Hagelin. Hagelin’s wrap around went off a Cap skate for a 1-0 lead with 3:16 remaining in the first. As the period wore on, they gradually got better. McDonagh didn’t have a strong game. He and Anton Stralman struggled throughout. McDonagh’s late holding penalty handed the Caps another power play, which carried into the second. They didn’t connect due to superb penalty killing from Callahan, Hagelin and Derek Stepan. In fact, a good closeout from Darroll Powe allowed Hagelin to get behind the D for a breakaway. But Holtby just got a piece of his shorthanded bid. A turning point.

Asham was sent to the box. It didn’t take long for Ovechkin to pounce on a Mike Green rebound, flipping a loose puck upstairs for his first. With our fans fuming, Cap penalties on Martin Erat and Fehr gave them a great opportunity to reestablish momentum. Instead, they failed miserably. There was too much hesitation allowing the Caps to get in the lanes. They blocked 25 shots. The Rangers also missed the net 18 times. That’s 43 shots that never made it to Holtby because of over passing.

The defense had been shaky up till that point. McDonagh and Dan Girardi left too much of a gap for Steve Oleksy to send Johansson on a breakaway. His shot squeaked through Lundqvist’s pads to give Washington their first lead with 5:39 left. With Verizon Center buzzing, they had even more reason to cheer when Lundqvist got caught napping on a harmless Chimera shot from way out. Mathieu Perreault pressured Stralman into a turnover. Stralman was taken down prior without a whistle. He still needed to be stronger. Before you knew it, Chimera sent a turnaround shot past Lundqvist for a two-goal lead. A stunning turn of events our team couldn’t overcome.

They had their chances in the third. Hagelin was our best player. On a two-on-one with Stepan, he whistled one off the cross bar. Rick Nash also couldn’t put one past a scrambling Holtby. Nash was okay but could’ve been more aggressive in his first postseason game in six years. He registered a game high eight shots despite looking passive at moments. His best opportunity came on a backhand during the second. He was also denied by a sliding Holtby at the buzzer. With over four minutes left, John Moore appeared to beat Holtby but a lengthy video review upheld the decision of no goal.

One of the real disturbing aspects was the Caps manhandling our guys. They were more physical and better offensively and defensively. The hits might say Rangers 41, Capitals 34. But anyone who watched knows better. The lack of Ryane Clowe was noticeable. Chris Kreider attempted five shots, getting two on goal. John Tortorella gave him a little more time in the third. Mats Zuccarello was credited with six hits but passed up on shots. It was a trend. Derick Brassard was decent with Kreider and Taylor Pyatt but not consistent enough. Brad Richards took too much time to shoot and missed the net.

There’s definitely things the Rangers must improve upon. They can’t get out-muscled and out-hustled. And certainly need Lundqvist to outplay Holtby. Too much went wrong tonight. We’ll see how they adjust Saturday.

NY Puck 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Braden Holtby, Wsh (34 saves incl. 16/16-good but not as good as his stat line)
2nd Star-Troy Brouwer, Wsh (2 SOG, 7 hits-he set the tone)
1st Star-Carl Hagelin, NYR (1st career postseason goal, 4 SOG, +1 in 26 inspired shifts)