2 good things & 3 bad things we learned in Game #1

The Washington Capitals fell 4-1 in Game 1 to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in what was a very physical and chippy game. Expect that physicality to continue between these two bitter rivals.

It's just one game and the series isn't over yet. Now isn't the time to press the panic button Caps fans but we can learn a little bit from the loss and move on. So now we're going to show you two good things and three bad things from Game 1:

2 Good Things

The Capitals didn't quit and kept the game a lot closer than what the score indicated. Everyone was fighting each and every shift and that's playoff hockey. Whether you were John Carlson who won a Cup before or Hendrix Lapierre who won the Calder Cup last year, everyone chipped in.

Nic Dowd led the Caps with six hits. I had a hunch before the series began that Dowd would play a huge part in the physical game as Tom Wilson has to watch his back from both the Rangers and the NHL Department of Player Safety.

3 Bad Things

Besides the scoreboard the Caps were outplayed and outhustled and that came from both the Rangers speed and the Caps being banged up defensively. Nick Jensen and Rasmus Sandin are an important part of the defense and having those guys both out hurts.

The Capitals also lost Vincent Iorio so a banged up defense got more banged up. As we're writing this article the Caps are holding a practice at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. We'll know more details soon I'm sure from the beat writers who are there.

Okay we'll do a bonus here for the hits and the shots. The Caps were outshot 31-21 and outhit 33-21. Anybody that says the Caps play dirty only watches them when they're on ESPN and not every night.

There were a lot of dirty tricks the Rangers played in that first Game that were non calls. All you have to do is move on and just don't make the same mistakes you made last game. Get better every day and one game at a time is what got the Caps to this position in the first place instead of the Red Wings, Flyers, and Penguins.