Capitals return to ice during intermission to near brawl with Rangers

Early on in the playoffs, teams are living up to the expectations of the raised physical play and rivalry. At the end of the second period, the Capitals came back to the ice to defend a teammate left out there.

While the rest of the Capitals headed off the ice for intermission, Trevor Van Riemsdyk stayed out and was getting tangled up with Matt Rempe and a mob of the Rangers. When a few teammates noticed Van Riemsdyk mucking it up, they organized and headed up ice to join him.

Down by two goals and not at all favoured to have a chance to win this series, the Capitals will need to engage in this antagonistic physical play and take any advantage they can get. Going up against Rempe's Rangers, the physicality will be a key factor to this entire series. It seems to be a fine line however, because early in the playoffs, the referees still have a tendency to call regular season penalties. Matt Rempe was called for a soft penalty on his first shift, as he laid out a Capitals player for a clean hit on the boards.



As the playoffs go on however, the whistles will be put away - and the physical play will only get more intense. Strap in hockey fans!