For the sixth time in the Alexander Ovechkin era, the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals will meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

When we last saw these two teams match up in 2015, it was a vicious back-and-forth between a pair of star-studded contenders. Nine years later, many see the outcome of this series as a given and the games themselves little more than a formality.

This season was a tumultuous one for the Rangers; at least, as tumultuous a season as one can have en route to a Presidents' Trophy. They battled through a brief goalie controversy and some struggles at 5-on-5 to claw to the other side as the league's best regular season team.

With Artemi Panarin playing arguably his best hockey ever and with Adam Fox and Igor Shestyorkin squarely in their prime,