Set in Stone: Rangers vs. Capitals

It's all set up, and presumably will begin Wednesday night from the Verizon Center.

Washington (50-24-8 -- 108) vs. The Rangers (42-30-9 -- 93, one game left)

The four games this season...

Capitals 3, Rangers 1 - 11/8/08 - This game was so long ago that Aaron Voros scored the Rangers' only goal on a pass from Brandon Dubinsky. Capitals started backup goalie Brent Johnson, Chris Drury failed on a penalty shot with the score 2-1 with 2:15 left to play, and Alexander Semin scored an empty netter to seal the deal. Alex Ovechkin had no goals and was foiled all night by an incredible Henrik Lundqvist, who let in one goal when it hit the glass behing the net, bounced and hit the crossbar, hit Lundqvist in the head, and Brooks Laich batted it in. The 2nd goal was scored after the net came loose, and Lundqvist argued play should've stopped. It didn't, Caps win.

Capitals 5, Rangers 4, OT - 12/23/08 - Rangers go up 4-0, Capitals storm back to tie it, including 2 goals by Ovechkin. Ryan Callahan scored 2 as well, Drury had 3 assists, and Nigel Dawes had 2 assists. Jose Theodore started the game, got pulled, and then was put back in to start the 2nd period. This was an ecstatic first half of the game, and a gross second half that shone a light on some of the team's offensive and defensive problems.

Capitals 2, Rangers 1 - 1/3/09 - Petr Prucha had the lone goal for the good guys, and Marc Staal matched up well against Ovechkin all night long. However, Ovechkin scored the game winner while shorthanded with 32 seconds left in the 2nd. This was their 12th SHG-against of the year. Steve Valiquette was in net and did play well. This game was also notable for Everyone's Hero Wade Redden getting in - and winning - a fight against Chris Clark.

Rangers 5, Capitals 4, SO - 2/11/09 - Down 2-1 after one period and tied 4-4 after the second, the Rangers had 10 minutes of power play time (including a double-minor for high-sticking) and didn't score once. The Rangers were slumping badly during the stretch of the year, as they were 0-4-1 before this game and 1-4-3 afterwards. Lunqvist was in net, so was Theodore.

So which will we see, those 5-4 games of those 2-1 games? I think if it goes 2-1, it's the Rangers winning, but if Lundqvist lets up those 4 or 5 goals, the Rangers won't be able to overcome.

Official Prediction: Rangers in 7. Yes, I'm serious. No, it's not a homer pick. I've been saying they could beat Washington all along. Once you get past Ovechkin and Green, they aren't scary at all. Jose Theodore? Get real. Lundqvist can outplay him every night.