Written by Allan Freda at New York Times.com
In Kevin Shattenkirk’s first gathering with the news media as a member of the Washington Capitals, he was asked about playing his initial game with his new team at Madison Square Garden, not far from his native New Rochelle.
“That’s wild,” said Shattenkirk, a top-tier defenseman who was acquired from the St. Louis Blues on Monday night. “That seems to always happen after a trade — playing against your former team or at home. The beauty of it is, I can play in front of some family and friends.”
Shattenkirk’s entourage had to like what it witnessed on Tuesday as his new team overwhelmed the Rangers in a 4-1 victory highlighted by two goals from Marcus Johansson and 29 saves by Braden Holtby.
“Going into this game, I wasn’t expected to do anything monumental; just go play,” Shattenkirk said. “It was a fun game to be out there.”
For the first time in his career, Shattenkirk will be playing in the Eastern Conference, so he could see the Rangers again in the playoffs. The Capitals and the Rangers have met three times in the last five postseasons, with the Rangers winning each series.
For the league-leading Capitals, Shattenkirk could prove to be a crucial piece as they try to win the Stanley Cup for the first time.
“Enough talking; we have to win,” said the Capitals’ star, Alex Ovechkin, who has scored 552 goals since entering the league in the 2005-6 season but has never been to the conference finals. “Obviously, it’s a big move. He’s going to help us a lot.”
Ovechkin was held off the score sheet against the Rangers, but he and his teammates bombarded goaltender Henrik Lundqvist with 38 shots.
Shattenkirk provided three of Washington’s eight shots in the first period, but it was his new teammates Marcus Johansson and Brett Connolly who scored second-period goals to put Washington ahead. Johansson and Nicklas Backstrom added goals in the third period as the Capitals (42-13-7) moved to 9 points ahead of the fourth-place Rangers in the Metropolitan Division.
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