The Washington Capitals are once again the No. 1 seed in the East bracket of the 2011 NHL Playoffs, and they will look to vanquish their playoff demons from the past two years when they square off against the No. 8 seed New York Rangers. Game 1 will take place on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. on Versus and Comcast SportsNet, according to the 2011 NHL Playoffs Schedule.

The Capitals will look to fare better as the East's top seed than they did last season, when they squandered a 3-1 lead and fell to the Montreal Canadiens in seven games. The Rangers are returning to the postseason after just missing last season. Both teams are dealing with key injuries. The Capitals will be without defensemen Dennis Wideman and are seeing fellow defensemen Mike Green return to action for the first time since late February. The Rangers will be without winger Ryan Callahan.

We will be previewing this series in five parts on Tuesday, so stay tuned to this StoryStream for more updates. Also, be sure to check out Japers' Rink for all your Capitals needs. For more on the Rangers, check out Blueshirt Banter and SB Nation New York.