Caps Need to Return to Game Plan

Yesterday's 3-2 loss by the Washington Capitals to the New York Rangers in game three of their playoff series was a step back by the Caps. Although not perfect in the first two games (both victories), the Caps were able to stay out of the penalty box, crash the net, play sound defensively and stick to the game plan.

But yesterday, the Caps took eight penalties, allowed 35 shots and didn't shut down the Rangers like they had over the previous two games (for the most part). The Rangers clearly came out with a vengeance yesterday fighting for their playoff lives and it showed. They were the aggressors during the afternoon affair and clearly took the Caps out of their game plan.

Heading into Wednesday's game four, the Caps must show the same desperation the Rangers displayed yesterday. To do that, the red, white and blue need to crash the net, control play, stay out of the penalty box and stick to the style that allowed them to seize the top seed in the East.

Regressing to the uber-offensive style of last season won't work. There were too many times yesterday where they took stupid penalties because they had been beaten on a play. They allowed the Rangers to dictate play and were, quite frankly, lucky to only lose by a goal.

Their history in recently playoff series in game four isn't so great. To reverse that trend, they'll need to get back to what got them here.