Pressure's on No. 1 Caps, not Rangers

WASHINGTON

Chris Drury has been in this situation before -- eight times before, in fact.

He's gone into the postseason part of a top-seeded team, part of a defending Stanley Cup winner, as a road underdog and now as a No. 8 seed.

For Drury, this first game can be a real tone-setter. A difference-maker. He's never lost an opening game of the postseason -- 4-0 with the Avalanche, 2-0 with the Sabres, 2-0 with the Rangers -- and, for the run that began last night, he can see that his young Rangers team is in a pressure-free zone.

"No one's picking us, that's for sure," Drury said Wednesday before the Rangers' 2-1 loss in overtime at the Verizon Center. "We're an eight, they're a one. They've got Ovechkin, a few All-Stars. No one in here should feel any pressure."

John Tortorella has mentioned his team's ignorance coming into this series, and that is a compliment. He wants his group to be young and dumb, to not understand what the ramifications are when the puck dropped last night.

Even though the Caps have a few rookies as well, the weight of this series falls squarely on them. They are the East's top seed for the second straight season, a division winner for a fourth straight time, yet they've won only one playoff round, over the Rangers two years ago, in that stretch.

For all the good Bruce Boudreau has done to wrangle a talented club into one that's capable of tight, defensive hockey, national hockey commentators everywhere seem certain that, should the Caps falter against the Rangers, Boudreau's done.

"They have a lot to prove," Brandon Prust said. "They're hungry. I mean, everyone's hungry in the playoffs, but they have a lot to prove this year."

If there's one thing that these Rangers have excelled at this year, it's taking the steam out of a squad that's got more talent -- especially on the road. Tortorella's team, having embraced a no-nonsense, grinding style, is perfectly suited to stealing the voices of the 19,000 or so who pack the Verizon Center, clad in red, going hoarse for their Caps.

And, if Henrik Lundqvist withstands what's sure to be an early onslaught from Ovechkin & Co.; if Prust and his band of pluggers start throwing their weight around early and if the Rangers grab a goal or two first, the Caps may feel that weight sag their shoulders a bit.

Tortorella has been smart to give his rookies added responsibility at times this year. Ryan McDonagh, Michael Sauer and Derek Stepan have responded, have contributed often to the 11-4-1 stretch run that got them into the playoffs by a hair. That means those three won't shy from this bigger stage.

"It's certainly better than if we'd gotten 110 points and been in [the playoffs] for three weeks now," Drury said. "It's better to be higher in the standings, of course. But we've been in this mode where points and wins are so crucial for a while now. You can't help but think it'll benefit those guys."

The Rangers do not talk or act like a No. 8 seed that made it in during an impromptu team viewing party at a midtown bar. They are confident, taking the cue from their coach that everything is equal now.

Equal, but still unbalanced. The pressure's off, and now it's time to see if the Rangers can play that way.