Primetime. The Big City. Big-name franchises. And for a while, a whole lot of nothing.
Wednesday’s national televised tilt between the Washington Capitals and the New York Rangers was dominated early on by the Caps, save for a few breakdowns that goaltender Braden Holtby dispatched with relative ease.
Towards the latter half of the frame, the Caps finally put their puck possession to work, hitting the post three times and whiffing on a wide-open net. Hockey is fickle, however, and the league-best Caps and Rangers, owners of the fifth-worst points total in the NHL, both left the first period empty-handed.