These Washington Capitals have become masters of the tightrope walk, balanced and stable in their minds, hovering over the frantic nail-chewers watching from below. They have frustrated the New York Rangers with their sticks, forming a waving fortress around their net, deflecting every blur of rubber aimed their way. In Games 3 and 4 at Verizon Center, their visitors out-attempted them by 19 and 20, respectively. Both times, they clung to one-goal leads throughout the third period, then faced a six-on-five siege for at least 80 seconds. Both times, they never broke.
“I just think we’ve been here a lot,” Coach Barry Trotz said.