All it took for the Washington Capitals to wake up in Game 2 of their first-round 2011 NHL Playoff series against the New York Rangers was a goal by a man who was out of the lineup at midseason. Jason Chimera, who temporarily lost his spot after the trade for Jason Arnott, snapped the Capitals out of their funk with a rifle slap shot in the slot, giving them a 1-0 lead.
The Capitals struggled for most of the first period, as the Rangers used their physical play to overwhelm them. They had a great chance at the end of the period, but Mike Knuble pushed an open-goal shot wide. On this play, though, Brooks Laich fought hard to maintain possession behind the net, finding Marcus Johansson, who then delivered a beautiful pass to Chimera to one-time it past Henrik Lundqvist.
The Capitals quickly took over the pace of the game from there, banging home a second goal when Jason Arnott scored on a rebound. A .gif of the goal, via @johnctownsend, is below the jump.
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