Goalie Henrik Lundqvist has been typically stellar, but the Blueshirts have all of one goal so far in this series and are down two games to none despite only having allowed the Caps two goals each in the first two games. In Friday’s Game 2, New York managed only 22 shots on rookie goalie Michal Neuvirth. The 23-year-old, who had four shutouts in the regular season, has stopped 46 of 47 shots so far in the series.

History says the Rangers are toast. Only once in franchise history have the Rangers overcome losses in the first two games of a playoff series. In 1996, the Blueshirts dropped Games 1 and 2 to the Canadiens in the first round, then rallied to win the next four games. New York’s highest-paid player, Marian Gaborik, has been invisible for the most part. The last time Gaborik scored was March 20 in Pittsburgh. He is now on an 11-game goal drought. He played Friday on a newly created line with Erik Christensen and Vinny Prospal, but it didn’t help matters.

New York totaled just nine shots in the game’s final 40 minutes on Friday. Its lone goal this series is from a defenseman (Matt Gilroy) who was playing in the first Stanley Cup playoff game of his NHL career. Dating back to Game 2 of the East quarters between the Caps and Rangers, the Blueshirts have now scored a total of three goals in their last five postseason games in Washington.

It’s only the second time Washington has held a 2-0 edge in a series under Coach Bruce Boudreau; the first was in 2009 in a seven-game loss to Pittsburgh in the second round.

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