Megan Cloherty, wtop.com
WASHINGTON – It’s come down to a best-of-three between the Capitals and Rangers with Game 5 Monday night in the Big Apple.
Defenseman Karl Alzner says the game plan is to play simple.
“We’re going to play very simple,” Alzner tells WTOP. “It’s kind of the way we played last game, just being patient, sticking to what has been working for us. That’s just been lugging pucks up the wall, chipping them, chasing them, waiting for them to make a mistake or get frustrated.”
The word ‘frustration’ has been thrown around a lot by Rangers fans in reference to Washington’s aptitude in blocking shots. Rangers Captain Ryan Callahan spoke to ESPN New York about the inevitable emotion that comes with a loss.
“Frustration, you can’t let that creep in,” said Callahan, who had two shots Saturday. “You have to keep banging away and we’re not frustrated in here, we realized what we have to do and we just have to go out there and do it.”
Alzner says his team knows what works and is going to stick with it, no matter the pressure.
“We have a workman-like attitude. We don’t try to make anything fancy, which sometimes isn’t fun to watch, but it’s the way you have to play if you want to win.”
And while Caps goalie Braden Holtby continues to be consistent, Alzner says the team’s offensive goal is to get on the scoreboard first.
“We’ve always talked about scoring the first goal, first two goals if we can. It really sets us up for the style of defense we’ve been playing lately. It makes it tough for teams to gain any momentum.”
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