WASHINGTON — These are the moments of truth for the Rangers, who earned the Presidents’ Trophy by exploiting their speed on the regular-season open highway but have been made to look ordinary in a seemingly endless succession of grinding games in successive rounds by playoff opponents who have succeeded in their mission to muddy the track.
These are the moments of truth for this team and these players, down 2-1 to the Capitals with Game 4 on Wednesday, and these are the moments of truth for management, which may have assembled a stable of thoroughbred horses for which playoff hockey is the wrong course.